Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1814, 1920-1951
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FENT, n.2, v.2 Also feint.
I. n. 1. A slit or opening in the neck, sleeve, skirt, etc. of a garment (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Ork., ne.Sc., Ags., Fif. 1950). Now only dial. in Eng.Sc. 1814 in Jam.2:
He put . . . the other hand into the fent of her petticoat.
Hence fent-piece, “a piece of cloth sewed at the upper end of a fent, in order to prevent its tearing” (Sc. 1818 Sawers).
2. See quots.Ork. 1930 Orcadian (13 Feb.):
Feint. This was the name given to a triangular piece of cloth in some parts of a woman's clothing. Also in the North Isles it was the name given to a triangular piece of land between two rigs in the olden times.Ork.5 1951:
The three-cornered patch which works out in ploughing a field wider at one end than the other is called a fent.
II. v. Only in ppl.adj. fented, gored.Ork. 1920 J. Firth Reminisc. (1922) 135:
The plain gown of printed cotton or wincey reached almost to the ankles, and over it was worn a small square apron, the “fented dedley” (gored pinafore) only coming into fashion later.
