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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

DERN, Darn, adj., n., v.1 Also derne. Now gen. obs. exc. poet.

I. adj.

1. Secret, obscure, hidden. Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1806 R. Forsyth Beauties Scot. IV. 360:
At the south east corner is the darn, or private gate.
Sc. 1808 Scott Letters (1932) II. 120:
I am now, in “dern privacie,” to give you the outline.
m.Sc. 1988 William Neill Making Tracks 34:
Think deep on the dern power o usquebae ...
the staucherin limb, the menseless bletherin tung ...
yeskin an soomin een an howff-yaird fecht.
Edb. 1928 A. D. Mackie Poems 58:
Oot o' its dern neuk somewhere ben, Where it's been sleepit lang and gien me peace, The auld fain feelin' is roosed up again.
Rxb. 1821 A. Scott Poems 39:
Syne snugly darn aneath the bed, Was Willy's sootie honour laid.

2. Dark, dreary, lonely, desolate. Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1802–3 Minstr. Sc. Border III. 116:
Auld Durie never saw a blink, The lodging was sae dark and dern.
Fif. 1927 Dunfermline Press (26 Aug.):
Darn (dark) road, an old (now) disused road.
Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Poems (1925) 62:
But nane the night save you and I hae come Frae the dern mansions ofthe midnight tomb.
Rxb. 1862 W. Baird Mem. John Baird 21:
In one of the derne places through which the path led him, there stood an old deserted shepherd's house.

II. n. Secrecy, darkness, obscurity. Only in phr. in dern.m.Sc. 1991 Tom Scott in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 41:
Ay, and see richt throu me
Inti the fires my hert in dern is dreean,
No even daeth can get in me sic quakin
Bwk. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes 142:
Where lies in dern “auld Rhymer's race.”

III. v.

1. tr., intr., or refl. To hide, conceal; used of a bird among the heather (Ork. 1929 Marw., darn), or of concealing a fault (Kcb.1 c.1900).Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems II. 226:
With that the haly Letcher fled And darn'd himsell behind a Bed.
Sc. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxxix.:
We dinna need to darn ourselves like some folks.
Sc. 1991 William Wolfe in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 65:
A routh o greenyerie taks ower the hill
An derns the growthe an gurly wark o thorns
But still an on, goddesses are bluidan.
Fif. 1841 C. Gray Lays and Lyrics 110:
The sun has derned himsel in cluds, Nor blinks upon the stormy sea.
m.Sc. 1986 Ian A. Bowman in Joy Hendry Chapman 43-4 165:
The starling's nest, weel derned ablow the foreshot,
gars her eggs ligg secure.
m.Sc. 1994 John Burns in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 26:
He could juist mak oot the shape o twa, three fish dernin i the shaddas, barely muvin, forbye the odd flick o a tail fin.
Edb. 1791 J. Learmont Poems 196:
Or soud we dern her in a neuk sae grey She pettit gangs wi' spendthrift chaps awa.
Edb. 1991 J. K. Annand in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 20:
Aneath a hap o snaw it derns
Deep in a dwam for maist the year
To burst throu in a bleeze o starns
Syne skail its flourish on the stour.
w.Sc. 1929 R. Crawford Quiet Fields 36:
Oh! weel, oh! weel, though derned in mool, Or row'd in leid.
Ayr. c.1786 Burns A. Armour's Prayer (Cent. ed.) iii.:
An' now we're dern'd in dens and hollows, And hunted, as was William Wallace.
Kcb. 1896 S. R. Crockett Grey Man i.:
We made shift to get about it and darn ourselves among the heather.
Slk. 1820 Hogg Winter Ev. Tales II. 218:
At sight of an eel he would shudder and darn.

2. refl. With doon, down: to nestle down (Ork. 1929 Marw.).Ib.:
“Darn thee doon noo an sleep” — to a child.
Per. a.1837 R. Nicoll Poems (1842) 52:
Awa 'mang the stacks wi' my dearie I gae, An' we dern oursel's down 'mang the fresh aiten strae.

3. intr. To listen surreptitiously, to eavesdrop.Fif. 1825 Jam.2:
He was darnin at my door.
Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin xxvi.:
Anxious to hear what wad be said atween her faither an' me . . . the cuttie . . . derned at the void through whilk the barrel had made its misfortunate descent.

4. To loiter; “to loiter at work” (Fif. 1825 Jam.2); hence to dern behind, “to fall back” (Ib.).Sc.(E) 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 9:
An' i' the thrang Tam dern't ahint An' buckled to his fell intent.
Sc.(E) 1936 J. G. Horne Flooer o' the Ling 59:
Whaur trauchlt fouk were fain, In simmer heat Or winter weet, To dern a wee.

5. “To muse, to think” (Fif. 1825 Jam.2).

[O.Sc. has dern(e), darn(e), adj. and n., from a.1400; v., from 1584; in the placename Dernewick (now Darnick), however, the word occurs earlier, viz. a.1150 (see J. B. Johnston Place-Names of Scot. 1934); Mid.Eng. derne, dernen, O.E. dierne, diernan, adj. and v.]

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"Dern adj., n., v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dern_adj_n_v1>

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