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.
Quotation dates: 1837-1871
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
GOUCH, n., int. Also goch. [gux, gox].
I. n. A powerful exhalation, a gasp.s.Sc. 1837 Wilson's Tales of the Borders III. 380:
Death hasna already blawn the witherin gouch o' his breath on't.s.Sc. 1838 Wilson's Tales of the Borders V. 70:
The gouch o' his breath comes owre me like the reek o' a snuffed-out candle.
II. int. The sound made by such an exhalation, owch!Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb iv.:
Tam uttered an involuntary "Go-ch!" with considerable emphasis.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Gouch n., interj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/gouch>
