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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.

GOWL, v.¹, n.¹ Also †goul, †gowel, gowal; gjol (Sh.). [Sc. gʌul, but Sh. + gjo:l (rare)]

I. v. 1. To howl, yell, roar (both of men and animals) (I.Sc., Cai., ‡Abd., Per., Ayr., sm.Sc., Uls. 1955); to growl (m.Lth.¹ 1955), whine; to bark (of a seal) (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), Sh.¹⁰ 1955); to weep noisily (Sc. 1707 R. Sibbald Hist. Slg. (1892) 33; Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.; Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl., Uls. 1931 North. Whig (11 Dec.) 13; Sh., Cai. 1955); to scold, to speak loudly and angrily (Lnk. 1825 Jam.; ne.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Ork. 1929 Marw.; Fif., Ayr. 1955). Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1722 Ramsay Three Bonnets (1800) 575:
And left poor Bawsy in a fret, Wha loudly gowl'd, and made a din That was o'erheard by a' within.Ayr. 1786 Burns Ded. G. Hamilton 97–8:
May ne'er Misfortune's gowling bark, Howl thro' the dwelling o' the Clerk!Slk. 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake 177:
He [the lion] . . . goulit at the keryl, and he geckit at hevin.Sc. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xiv.:
They cou'dna get a word o' sense out o' him, for downright fright at their gowling and routing.Ayr. 1868 J. K. Hunter Artist's Life 16:
John had whyles a goulin' way wi' him.Dmf. 1899 Country Schoolmaster (Wallace) 333:
The London Leeberal papers dinna gowl and screech, and tell lees sae heartily as their Scotch kintra cousins.em.Sc. 1908 Gsw. Ballad Club III. 171:
Nae School-Brod members gowled at me As though I were a mouse, and he Almighty God.Ork. 1915 Old-Lore Misc. VIII. i. 40:
Da ald man . . . ma'be gowled, bit 'e pat 'is hand till id.Tyr. 1929 “M. Mulcaghey” Ballymulcaghey 16:
The louder the dog gowled in the byre, the louder wee Samuel James gowled in the house.Sc. 1947 New Shetlander No. 1. 9:
A bairn ida neeber hoose, gowlin.

Hence †gowler, a dog (Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.).

2. To scowl (wm.Sc., Rxb. 1955). Ppl.adj. gowlin, scowling, “grumpy” (Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 249).Rxb. 1826 A. Scott Poems 54:
To ne'er a gowlin scoundrel e'er was whalpit I'll quat wi' life, sae lang as I can help it.Bwk. 1875 Minstr. Merse (Crockett 1893) 181:
If fortune gowl we maunna girn, But take life as we find it.Ags. 1882 Brechin Advertiser (4 April) 3:
A' the lamps seem gowlin' faces.Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 77:
Jean o' the Scales set her broos and gowled to him whaur she sat.

†3. Of the wind: to howl, to blow in strong, noisy gusts; of weather: to be windy, stormy. Also in m.Yks. dial.Sc. 1726 Ramsay T.T.Misc. (1876) I. 98:
Bring us in the meikle bowl, Plac't on the middle of the table And let wind and weather gowl.Lth. 1825 Jam.:
A gouling day, one marked by strong wind.Fif. 1838 W. Tennant Anster Fair 34:
That by the michty gowlin' wind He michtna down be swappit.Gsw. 1877 A. G. Murdoch Laird's Lykewake 18:
The gowlin' storm . . . Cam' hoastin' doun Kate Hyslop's lum.Sc. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xxvi.:
When the wind gowls in the chimney and the rain tirls on the roof.

II. n. 1. A yell, howl, bellow, growl (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 239; Per. a.1869 C. Spence Poems (1898) 56; Sh. 1898 Shetland News (26 Feb.); Ayr. 1923 Wilson Dial. Burns 166; Sh., Ork., m.Lth., Kcb. 1955); “a loud cry, expressive of indignation” (s.Sc. 1808 Jam.; Arg., Uls. 1955); an angry scolding.Sc. 1803 Scott Minstrelsy III. 359:
The troublit pool conveyit the gowl.Rxb. 1826 A. Scott Poems 57:
Dogs advancin' near, Their clam'rous goul still gainin' on my ear.Kcb. 1894 Crockett Raiders xliv.:
I . . . burst out in a kin o' gowl o' anger.em.Sc. 1898 H. Rogers Meggotsbrae 9:
I gied them a gowl they'll no forget ony mair than their mother will hers.Slg. 1902 W. C. Paterson Echoes 114:
What a heartfu' o' joy's in a lood cheery gowl When compared wi' yon haughty suspicious-like scowl.Wgt. 1912 A.O.W.B. Fables frae French 90:
In his pain Mang dismal gowls renewt wi' micht an' main, He thocht himsel the doolest dog alive.Uls. 1928 “M. Mulcaghey” Ballymulcaghey 18:
I think I niver heerd anythin' in my born day till aquil the gowls ov wee Samuel James.

2. A scowl (Lnk.¹¹ 1955).Edb. 1850 J. Smith Hum. Sc. Stories 12:
She gaed me anither gowl o' a look.

3. “A violent (howling) gust of wind, rippling the surface of the water” (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), Sh.¹⁰ 1955); the howling noise made by the wind (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 206:
The jauping weet, the stented sheet, The South-west stiffest gowl.