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: 1757-1758, 1818-1821
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†FORNIE, n. Also forny, fournie. A jocular abbreviation of fornication.Sc. a.1758 Ramsay Poems (1877) I. 260:
The dearth of forny's now away.Ayr. 1818 in E. Burt Letters (ed. Jamieson) I. 186–7:
The Dr commenced with a tremendous tirade against the monstrous . . . abomination of ante-nuptial fornication. The poor man, who had never heard such a portentous word before . . . in great agitation, cried out, "Hoot! hoot awa, Sir . . . No sae bad as that neither — not ante-nuptial — nothing of the kind Sir . . . just fornie, Sir, plain fornie, so help me."Gall. 1821 Gallowa' Herds:
Actor John, Actor John, let fournies alone.
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"Fornie n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/fornie>
