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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

HAIK, v., n.¹ Also hake, haick; ¶heck (Cai.); haig. [he:k].

I. v. 1. To wander, trudge aimlessly or restlessly from place to place; to range, rove about, often on the outlook for something which can be turned to advantage (Kcb.¹ 1929; I., ne. and em.Sc.(a), Kcb., Dmf., Rxb. 1956); used both tr. and intr. Often found in phrs. to haik throw the country (Sc. 1808 Jam.), to haik (hake) the country (Mry.¹ 1925; Per.⁴ 1950), to haik ower the country (Nai.² 1925). Vbl.n. haikan, haikin' (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 73; Cld. 1880 Jam.); ppl.adj. haikin', wandering, idle, worthless; “gossiping from house to house” (Abd.⁴ 1928).Abd. 1836 Abd. Shaver (July) 355:
She is never happy except when haikin' about seeking her chum.s.Sc. 1838 Wilson's Tales of the Borders IV. 356:
Can Lizzy hae gane oot wi' that haikin' callant, Jamie Rib?Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 73:
He'll niver get on; he's sic a haikin-aboot hypal . . . That coo winna sattle, she haiks on.Ags. 1869 R. Leighton Poems 319:
She never haikit like a hound, But keepit aye on hamely ground.Arg. 1882 Arg. Herald (3 June):
Whaur ir ye gaun strallopin an' haikin aboot the hoose?Abd. 1924 Swatches o' Hamespun 44:
We may haik an' reenge, be't East be't Wast.Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 28:
Where 'e gaun haikin' tae the nicht?Sc. 1933 W. Soutar Seeds in the Wind 11:
Haik on wi' me attour yon hill, Nor langer bide at hame.Abd. 1993:
She's a great haikin aboot kinna buddy, niver at hame! Abd. 1995 Sheena Blackhall Lament for the Raj 11:
Backwise inno their craft they gaed -
Twa wee men gyaun haikin
Back tae the sterny firmament
An their interstellar traikin. ne.Sc. 2003 Press and Journal 1 Sep 12:
Noo as weel as the games, as in the last fower eer, I hae been on the haik aa ower Scotland in wir Roads of Summer series for ma Sunday Reel Blend programme along wi ma producer Jennifer Forrest ... ne.Sc. 2004 Press and Journal 13 Dec 12:
Sook in, sook in, sook in blaw Sook in, sook in blaw! The Music Man - Party Song Oh, the affront o the hale thing, tho it soondit a dasht gweed idea at the time. Weel, atween ae thing an anither, I jist hidna hin time tae gie't muckle thocht as I hid been haikin aa ower the place es last wikk.

2. To search, rummage, e.g. in a drawer, etc. (Fif., Dmf. 1956). Cf. Raik.

3. To carry or drag from one place to another with consequent fatigue to oneself or one's companion (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.B., haik, hake; Sh., Abd., Ags., Arg. 1956).Sc. c.1776 Katherine Jaffray xiii. in Child Ballads No. 221. A:
They haik ye up and settle ye by, Till on your wedding day, And gie ye frogs instead o' fish, And play ye foul, foul play.s.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
“What needs ye haik her up and down throw the haill town?” Or, “What needs you weary yoursell, haiking about that heavy big-coat whare'er ye gang?”s.Sc. 1897 E. Hamilton Outlaws xiii.:
Lang Tam was haikit back tae Copshaw with his head slit down to the breast bane.Sc. 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 8:
He haik'd in peats an' fraucht o' watter, But ony unco din or splatter.

4. tr. To treat roughly, drive hard; intr., with on, to drive on, work vigorously (Abd. 1956). Pa.p. haiket, -it, hard-driven (Bch. 1926 Dieth Bch. Dial. 20).Sc. 1842 Whistle Binkie 114:
He swore he wad lay my back laigh on the plain, But I haikit him weel.Abd. 1906 Rymour Club Misc. I. 22:
A hurb to hash and haick the loons, There's nae his like in Buchan's boun's.ne.Sc. 1921 Swatches o' Hamespun 9:
“Never sae sair haiket,” he said ae Eel nicht, “drinkin' sowens, an' singin' aul' sangs.”Abd. 1930 Abd. Univ. Review (March) 103:
Ye wiz a strong chiel 'an, an' fyles ye hakit on at a terrible rate an' peer Jimmie hid aneuch adee t' keep tee wi't.Abd. 1955 Huntly Express (6 May):
As farmers say, “I hiv been sair haikit for time to carry out my ordinary duties of late and this week in that respect cow's a'.”Ags. 1968 William Allen Illsley ed. The Third Statistical Account of Scotland: The county of Angus (1977) 377:
haiket - short of time

†5. To kidnap, carry off by force “still used . . . by the boys of the High School of Edinburgh” (Edb. 1825 Jam.).

II. n. 1. Search, hunt, lookout; found only in phrs. to be on the haik for, to hae a haik for, to be on the lookout for, on the scrounge for (Sh., Abd., Ags., Fif., Arg., Kcb. 1956).Ayr.⁴ c.1928:
She's awa' on the haik for flowers.Abd.²⁹ 1953:
Auld Mrs Ironside wis aye on the haik at a roup seein' fit she could pick up.Abd. 1998 Sheena Blackhall The Bonsai Grower 61:
Gin anither oor, he wis up at the laird's hoose, tae drive Himsel tae the station fur the haik bi train intae the big toun near forty mile awa.

2. A person or animal in the habit of wandering idly from place to place, out of curiosity or with the idea of scrounging (Ayr. 1825 Jam., haig; Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 73; Cld. 1880 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., hake; Bnff., Abd., Ags., Fif., Arg., Gall., s.Sc. 1956). Gen. applied opprobriously to a woman (Abd. 1825 Jam.; Bwk. 1844 Proc. Bwk. Nat. Club (1849) 101, hexe [by erron. association with Ger. hexe, a witch]; Cai. 1902 E.D.D., heck; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein). Also freq. haiker (Gregor) and dim. haikey (Uls. 1924 W. Lutton Montiaghisms 26).Kcb.⁴ 1900:
A greedy cow, always on the prowl for choice clumps of grass is said to be “a real aul' haik.”Bnff. 1924 Swatches o' Hamespun 24:
She's a reglar haik.Ags. 1927 Brechin Advertiser (25 Oct.) 3:
Neibours gaithered lang to claik Aboot this gangrel tinker haik.Abd. 1993:
He's an awfu haik.