Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1706-1733, 1897-1992
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NESS, n. Also niss. A promontory, headland (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928)), as a common noun most freq. in I.Sc., but in Gen.Sc. use outside the Gaelic area as a place-name, e.g. Fife Ness, Buchan Ness, Tarbat Ness, Southerness, Skipness.Ork. 1706 W. Mackintosh Glimpses Kirkwall (1887) 47:
[They] went beneath the floodmark of the said ness.Sh. c.1733 P.S.A.S. XXVI. 201:
That none keep scar sheep, except it be in holms or nesses.Sh. 1897 J. Jakobsen Dial. Shet. 57:
Every headland, ness and point, every bay and bight.Cai. 1909 D. Houston 'E Silkie Man 10:
He keepid 'r 'awa an' brocht up on 'e back 'e Niss.m.Sc. 1992 Margaret Elphinstone in Elizabeth Burns et al. Original Prints Four 4:
Here she was, months later, walking alone down the ness, and they had never been sailing yet.
Comb. nessland, the area of a headland. Nonce.Sh. 1949 P. Jamieson Letters on Sh. 30:
Whalsay has a fair depth of peat moor in various parts of the hills and nesslands.
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"Ness n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/ness>
