Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
CHESS, n.1 †1. “The quarter or any smaller division of an apple, pear, etc., cut regularly into pieces” (Rxb. 1825 Jam.2; 1923 Watson W.-B., obs.); 2. a section of an orange (Ib.). Cf. n.Eng. dial. chess, one tier or layer above another; a row side by side; in pl., the rows of corn in the ear (E.D.D.).1. Sc. [1826] R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 158:
I've a cherry, I've a chess; I've a bonny blue glass.
