Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1778-1786, 1848-1895
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†HOIT, v., n.1 Also †hoyte, and freq. forms hoit(t)le. Cf. Hotter, Hyter.
I. v. 1. To move awkwardly or clumsily, used esp. to describe the gait of a stout person or well-fed animal when trying to move quickly, to waddle (Sc. 1808 Jam.).Lnk. a.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 62:
And do ye think I have naething a-do, but come here every other day hoiting after you?Ayr. 1786 Burns Auld Mare vii.:
Tho' now ye dow but hoyte and hoble, An' wintle like a saumont-coble.Ags. 1848 Feast Liter. Crumbs (1891) 34:
Nor does he hoit, an' stoit, an' stacher.Ags. 1895 Arbroath Guide (10 Aug.) 3:
I cam doon the hurdies o' the shelt wi' a skelp that made it cock up its heid an' hoitle awa' yont the road.
¶2. With up: to move upwards awkwardly, hoist or heave up. But phs. a misprint for hoise.Gsw. 1872 J. Young Lochlomond 55:
An' hoo the tailor had to lowse His wark, an' hoyte up in a crack The base auld lurdon on his back.
II. n. 1. A slow, hobbling gait (n.Sc. 1808 Jam., hoit; Ags. 1919 T.S.D.C. III. 19, hoittle); hence phr. to be at the hoit, to hobble (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.).
2. An awkward, lazy person, gen. used contemptuously (Ags. 1825 Jam.; Abd. 1877 Jam.). Also found in n.Eng. dial.
[Orig. prob. imit. in the same range of words as Hod, Hot, Hotter, Hyter, Hotch, q.v.]
