Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1806, 1895-1987
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CHEET, CHEETIE, CHEETY, n. [′tʃit(i)]
1. A cat; a call to a cat. Gen.Sc. Watson in Rxb. W.-B. (1923) gives also chee-chee as a call-name for a cat.Ags. 1895 Arbroath Guide (26 Jan.) 3/6:
Marget gaed to the back door cryin, "Puss, Puss, Pussy; cheet, cheet, cheety."Lnk. 1806 J. Black Falls of Clyde 169:
You've hurt poor baudrans wi' your lang wet clout. Cheet! Cheet! waesucks, I doubt poor thing she's dead.Kcb.10 1939:
That's a nice wee cheetie you've got.
2. In comb. with bauth(e)rin, pussy (pussie) = a cat (Sc. 1911 S.D.D., cheetie-bautherin; Bnff. 1898 E.D.D., -bauthrin). Known to Bnff.2, Abd.2, Ags.17, Fif.10, Arg.1, Lnk.3, Kcb.1 (1939); also cheetie-pussie-cattie.Sc. 1987 Hamish Whyte ed. The Scottish Cat 4:
There was a wee bit mousikie,
That lived in Gilberaty, O;
It couldna get a bite o cheese,
For cheetie-pussie-cattie, O.Fif.1 1930:
A woman might say to a cat being carried in a basket, to hearten it up, "Are ye there, cheetie-pussy? Ah'm always here, cheetie-pussy."Edb. 1906–1911 Edb. School Rhymes in Rymour Club Misc. I. 191:
Wee cheetie pussie, O, Rinnin' thro' the hoosie, O; The parritch pat fell aff the fire, And burnt a' its feetie, O.w.Dmf. 1908 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo (1912) ii.:
Quate as cheetie pussy, I got doon off the stule.
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"Cheet n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 1 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/cheet>
