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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.

ELDRITCH, adj. Also eildrich, eldric(h), -icht, -idge, -ish, ellritch, elric(h), -icht, -isch(e), -itch, †alry, and irreg. waldritch (Wgt. 1804 R. Couper Poems I. 172). See also Erlish. [′ɛl(d)rɪtʃ Sc., Ayr., Gall. + †′ɛl(d)rɪtʃt]

1. Weird, ghostly, uncanny, unearthly, hideous, esp. of sound; often applied to persons, things and places, usually to denote some connection with the supernatural. Now mainly in literary use. Also absol. Also used adv.; hence adv. eldrichly (Sc. 1902 Sc. Fairy Tales 51).Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems 28:
O Cannigate! poor elritch hole, What Loss, what Crosses does thou thole!Ayr. 1793 Burns Tam o' Shanter ll. 199–200:
So Maggie runs, the witches follow, Wi' monie an eldritch skriech and hollo.Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel xxx.:
The fallow set up an elritch screech, which made some think his courage was abated.Kcb. 1828 W. Nicholson Poems 126:
His eldritch look gars us swarf wi fear.Rnf. 1878 C. Fleming Poems, etc. 226:
And time's a chiel that stan's wi' eldrich whittle.Sc. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped ii.:
The woman, whose voice had risen to a kind of eldritch sing-song, turned with a skip, and was gone.Per. 1895 R. Ford Tayside Songs 117:
Then high they flew ower Camp's-Michael Kirk, An' the eldritch hags met there.Lth. 1920 A. Dodds Songs 27:
And a' day she sat spinnin', spinnin', Spinnin' her eldritch 'oo'.Sc. 1949 R. J. B. Sellar in Scots Mag. (Dec.) 210:
For the better part of an hour we remained there on Scotland's all but highest roof, listening to that eldrich wind.Slk. 1986 Harvey Holton in Joy Hendry Chapman 43-4 167:
mak day bi day an eldricht epic,
stertit wi the seasons clamerous caa. Uls. 1987 Sam Hanna Bell Across the Narrow Sea 131:
'Mark those texts he quoted for me, Angus,' said Neil rising from his stool and taking up the laird's volumes, 'I'm away to my eldritch studies.' Sc. 1991 William Wolfe in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 65:
A swippert lowe birsles the bydan nicht an
Skreichs an eldricht weird ower the warld. Cai. 1992 James Miller A Fine White Stoor 196:
A corncrake-that's what it is. God, that's rare nowadays. Very few left, I was reading. What a lonely, eldritch kind o a sound it is. Krekk! Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web v:
Nae Inglis wird alane can convoy the multiplicity o thocht ahin thon ae wird dreich. Dreich is a cauld, mochy, jeelin, dowie wird-a wird fur weather, character, emotion: an yon's bit scartit the tap o't, fur there's a guid gowpenfu o the eldritch steered inno't anna.

Hence ¶eldritchery, n., eerieness.Gsw. 1950 H. W. Pryde McFlannel Family Affairs 124:
And as the scraighs rose in pitch and volume there was added to the eldritchery the terror shrieks of Sarah and the bewitched yapping of Susan the dog.

†2. Surly, severe in temper and manner; of weather; chill, keen (Sc. 1825 Jam.², elrische). See also Allerish.

†3. Painful (of a sore or wound).Ags. 1808 Jam.:
Ane alry sair.