Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
‡LINTWHITE, n. Also lintie-, -y-. The linnet, Acanthis cannabina (Sc. 1808 Jam., Bnff., Clc. 1950). Also in n.Eng. and Ir. dials. Cf. Lintie. [′lɪntʍəit]Sc. a.1713 in D. Herd Sc. Songs (1776) I. 311:
Nae lintwhite on a' the gay plain Nor goudspink sae bony as she!Sc. 1778 Weekly Mag. (21 Jan.) 87:
Amang the woods nae canty lintwhites sing, Or plowmen blythly whistle, as in spring.Ayr. 1786 Burns To W. Simpson xii.:
O sweet are Coila's haughs an' woods, When lintwhites chant amang the buds.m.Lth. 1801 J. Thomson Poems 42:
The linty-white extends her throat On flow'ry thorn or brier.Rxb. 1833 A. Hall Sc. Borderer (1874) 24:
The lintwhite, the goldfinch, and the wren, strained their little throats in choral emulation.Kcb. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 IV. 101:
Flocks of “lint-whites” sing in chorus.Ags. 1873 D. M. Ogilvy Poems 127:
There's a hempie will rant and roar and fight, There's a quynie that lilts like a lintiewhite.
