Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†GORBIE, n. Dim. form of Gorb, a nestling, used (orig. in Galt) in phr. God's gorbie, of a clergyman.Ayr. 1821 Galt Ann. Parish xxvii.:
Claiming . . . an augmentation of my stipend . . . in case, after me, some bare and hungry gorbie of the Lord should be sent upon the parish, in no such condition to plea with the heritors as I was.Ib. i.:
The clergy are God's gorbies, and for their Master's sake it behoves us to respect them.Ayr. 1834 Galt Lit. Life I. 158:
The interview with Thomas Thorl is founded on an account given by my grandmother of a reception she gave herself, in days of yore, to one of “God's gorbies,” at Irvine.Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 74:
There was ae ill-deedy rascal who had snooved in by inches as he saw the gorbies pyking at the banes of the young laird's patrimony.Sc. 1892 N. Dickson Auld Sc. Minister 19:
The two “gorbies” regaled themselves with the savoury stake.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Gorbie n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/gorbie>