Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†PENNA, n. The art of writing, penmanship, as a school subject.Lnl. 1868 A. Dawson Rambling Recollections 11:
Amongst the batch of boarders of all hues committed to the charge of the second teacher of the Burgh School of Linlithgow, there was a knot of bare-legged, snotty striplings, who were hammering away at the single catechism, multiplication table, and penna, who ought to have been fighting the enemies of their country.
