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.
DOIL, n.2 Also doyl, dile. Sorrow.Bnff. 1927 E. S. Rae Hansel fae Hame 24:
I was bred faur the body kens nae want An' the sowl kens nae dile.
Hence 1. doilsome, gloomy, mournful; 2. doylach, -och, a stupid or crazy person.1. Cai. 1776 Weekly Mag. (25 Jan.) 145:
An' whistlin' by December's doilsome day, While Phœbus an' the spring are far away.2. Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 375:
The which son [of Paul Jones] yet lives. but is ratherly a doyloch.Gall. 1901 Trotter Gall. Gossip 60:
There wus a kin o' a doylach they ca't Gib M'Jiltroch . . . an they made him President.
