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.
O, int. Added after the rhyme-word at the end of a line or half-line in ballads and songs. Chiefly Sc., and prob. originating in the need to match the metre of the words to that of a pre-existing tune. Cf. E.M.E. -a sim. used.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 242:
O the Mill, Mill-O' and the Kill, Kill-O, And the Cogging of the Wheel-O.Ayr. 1784 Burns Green grow the Rashes i.:
What signifies the life o' man, An' 'twere na for the lasses, O.Sc. c.1826 Laird o Drum in Child Ballads No. 236 A. i:
O it fell out upon a day, When Drums was going to ride, O And there he met with a well-far'd may, Keeping her flocks on yon side, O.Abd. 1916 A. Gibson Under the Cruisie 80:
O mony a lad comes here to woo, It sairly does perplex me O, For what can simple maiden do — Their kind attentions vex me O.
