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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

FAITHER, n., v. Also faether, fayther, feyther, fether, faithur, fither. [′fe:ðər, ′fɛð-, Bwk. ′fɪð-]

I. n. 1. Gen.(exc. I.)Sc. forms of Eng. father (faither Sh., Cai., Bnff., Abd., Ags., Fif., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf.; fether Ork., Cai., Arg.; feyther Bnff.; fither Rxb. 2000s). See P.L.D. § 49, and cf. Fader.Per. c.1800 Lady Nairne He's ower the Hills ii.:
My faither's gane to fecht for him.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 3:
Me fether heard the sermon, an' said the text minny a time.Nai. 1927 G. Bain Dauvid Main 6:
Gang aifter yer fayther and tell'm his denner's ready.Gall. 1933 Gallovid. Annual 88:
Their ain feythers an' mithers ha'e nae control ower them.Ork. 1952 R. T. Johnston Stenwick Days (1984) 26:
"I suppose thoo'll be weel aff theesel?"
"Oh yaas. Me fether left me a gold mine, an' sixty thoosan pound." wm.Sc. 1980 Anna Blair The Rowan on the Ridge 4:
"No Faither," protested Bryce, "I wis jist goin' up a step or twa to look better ower to the ridge there, where Mither's to hae her hoose. You're maybe too auld to big it, but when I'm up, I'll dae it mysel'." wm.Sc. 1985 William McIlvanney The Big Man (1987) 124:
'Don't panic, Feyther. Mither, Ah'm still me.' Gsw. 1990 Ralph Glasser Gorbals Voice, Siren Songs 207:
'Aye' - and even if ye know ye're losin', ye go on fightin'. Ma feyther used tae say: "If you've gottae go doon, ye go doon fightin'!" Ay, ye've gottae have somethin' tae fight for, or ye're no' a man!' wm.Sc. 1991 Liz Lochhead Bagpipe Muzak 43:
I was embarrassed for My Mother. Dragging us up she had nothing, because my feyther - God forgive me for speaking ill of the dead - but he'd have took drink through a shitty cloot. Abd. 1991 George Bruce in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 22:
Blin boozed-up his faither struck him
time and time agen, and he was oot the door. Cai. 1992 James Miller A Fine White Stoor 13:
' ... Your great grandad had a whisker and he used to grab us bairns and rub his face against us. Oh we used to skirl. Now he got the croft fae his faither but that was before my time. ... ' Slg. 1994 Janet Paisley in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 32:
Sam jist noads. It's somethin atween faithur an son. Somethin fur them tae settle. m.Sc. 1994 Mary McCabe Everwinding Times 370:
" ... Come oan an we'll gie yer auld feyther the best wake he's ever had." He put a kindly arm round Nigel's shoulder and guided him into the house. Per. 1996 Timothy Neat ed. The Summer Walkers: Travelling People and Pearl-Fishers in the Highlands of Scotland 191:
But he loved to sing, he sang at the plough and he sang in the bothy, and Belle tells of how 'to find out the richt words o' the sangs, my faither sat for a hale week, every nicht, ootside the door o' the bothy, till he learned every word o' they twa songs! ... ' Abd. 2000 Sheena Blackhall The Singing Bird 56:
I hid a faither loued me weel,
He'd face the Deil fur my ain sake;
As stinch wis he as Druid's tree -
Daith played the widsman, felled yon aik. Sc. 2004 Herald 15 Feb 20:
Once Dubya has sorted out the mess in Iraq, I implore him to turn his attention to the plight of the miserable residents of the New Town who, it seems, have visited upon them daily yet another intolerable fiat from the capital's mithers and faithers. In the Sarajevo of Scotland, the latest civil friction has been sparked by Trevor Davies, a local councillor, who has ...

2. Sc. usages in phrs. and combs.: †(1) father-better, faither's-, better than one's father; “a common proverbial expression” (n.Sc. 1808 Jam., father-better); (2) fathers and brethren, the members of the General Assembly or of the Synods or Presbyteries of the Presbyterian Churches in Scot., most frequently used as a form of address; †(3) father-side, adv., on the father's side; †(4) father-sister, an aunt on the father's side (Sc. 1808 Jam.); †(5) father-waur, worse than one's father (Cld. 1825 Jam.); (6) my father's fiddle, a boys' game. See Fiddle.(1) Bwk. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes 88:
He's faither's better, cooper o' Fogo, At girding a barrel or making a coggie, Tooming a stoup or kissing a rogueie.(2) Sc. 1836 Proceedings Gen. Assembly 75:
My Reverend Fathers and Brethren, as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are entrusted with the most important mission that can be committed to man.Sc. 1843 T. Brown Ann Disruption (1877) 92:
Again Dr Welsh rose. “Fathers and Brethren,” he said.Sc. 1930 Proceedings Gen. Assembly 5:
Fathers and brethren, is not this an occasion to thank God that we no longer need to pay friendly visits, but are all met together under one roof-tree?Sc. 1951 Scotsman (24 May):
The Fathers and Brethren, drawn from every Presbytery in the country, are in touch with opinion throughout the land.(3) Sc. 1722 W. Hamilton Wallace 2:
So much for the brave Wallace Father-side.

II. v. Sc. reflex. usage: to indicate one's own paternity, by resemblance or the like (Ork.⁵, Cai.⁷, Abd.²⁷, Kcb.¹⁰ 1950).Sc. 1808 Scott Letters (Cent. ed.) II. 137:
This spirited composition, as we say in Scotland, fathers itself in the manliness of its style.Cai.⁷ 1950:
Nellie's bairn 'll seen faither himsel.