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.
DOWIE, n.
1. A term commonly applied in Eskdale to large granite stones deposited during the glacial age. Also attrib. with stane.Dmf. 1912 J. and R. Hyslop Langholm 808:
The largest [granite boulder] in the district is the Big Dowie Stane, lying in the bed of the Wauchope at Earshaw. . . . Higher up the Esk and Ewes than Langholm, there is an entire absence of these “dowie” stones.e.Dmf. 1915 D. J. Beattie Oor Gate-en' 16:
A big dowie stane did duty as a trap door.
2. One of the white pebbles found amongst gravel in a river-bed.Dmf. 1939 (per e.Dmf.1):
When we were children at school we used to play a lot on the sandbed by the river and the children used to hunt about for “dowies” when playing houses, to decorate them. They used to collect them too, to decorate the outsides of their window-sills and to put along the little flower borders of their small gardens.
