Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†DAWSIE, adj. "Stupid and inactive . . . it conveys both the idea of constitutional folly or imbecility of mind, and of bodily torpor. The term is conjoined with creature, or some substantive expressive of contempt; and often, perhaps merely for the sake of the sound, applied to a slovenly foolish woman in this form, dawsie mawsie" (Lth. 1825 Jam.2).
[Daw, n.2, + -sie, pejorative or dim. suff. as in Bigsie. Cf. Dawlie, Dawdie.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Dawsie adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dawsie>
