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.
MEER-SWINE, n. Also mere-swine. The dolphin, Delphinus delphis; the porpoise, Phocaena phocaena. Obs. in Eng. since 15th c.Edb. 1710 R. Sibbald Hist. Fife (1803) 115:
The bigger beareth the name of Dolphin, and our fishers call them meer-swines.Sc. 1822 Carlyle Early Letters (Norton 1886) II. 70:
Waugh fixed his eye on an enormous meerswine.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
As a vast quantity of fat surrounds the body of this animal, it has given occasion to the proverbial allusion, “as fat as a mere-swine”.
