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: 1829-1996
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ORRAL, n. Also orrel, oral, orle. A scrap, fragment, remnant (Ags. 1808 Jam.), gen. in pl. = bits and pieces, odds and ends (Mry. 1925; ne.Sc., Ags., Per. 1964), left-overs (Kcd. 1825 Jam.), refuse (Abd. 1825 Jam.), dregs. Also fig. [′orl]Abd. 1829 A. Cruickshank Poems 38:
Bit that's the very orrals o' mankind, I'm sere ye better anes nor that wid find.Ags. 1853 W. Blair Aberbrothock 76:
They said she cam' frae Farfar, an' they're just the orles o' fouk up there aboot.Abd. 1869 G. Gall MS. Diary (3 April):
It will require all our orrals and everything else to get anything like a cover on it [new farm], as there is £850 of a Grassem to pay before entry.Abd. 1918 J. Mitchell Bydand 4:
The wee bit pig, that ate the orrals up.Abd. 1956 People's Jnl. (24 March):
Nae a lowse strae or orral o' ony kin' left lyin' aboot.Abd. 1995 Sheena Blackhall Lament for the Raj 21:
Man's orrals feed her cubs. Their den's a drain -
Nae mair the sweet, cweel earth, bi fairmer's puil. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 50:
Henry wis a bit o an orral, wi bladdit teeth an fooshty braith that rikkit o garlic.
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"Orral n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 May 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/orral>
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