Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1885-1887, 1996
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PLIVER, n. Also plivver (Sh. 1898 J. Angus Klingrahool 25, 1922 J. Inkster Mansie's Röd 12). Gen.Sc. forms of Eng. plover (Sc. 1722 W. MacFarlane Geog. Coll. (S.H.S.) II. 3; Ayr. 1785 Burns Jolly Beggars Recit. vi.; Kcb. 1814 W. Nicholson Poems 24; Abd. 1925 A. Murison Rosehearty Rhymes 6). Also in form ploveron, id. (Bnff. 1782 Caled. Mercury (14 Aug.)).
Sc. form of Eng. plover.m.Sc. 1996 John Murray Aspen 14:
the screich fae the pins
the slorrop fae the blades
an the skirl owerheid
fae the pliver, the peewee
an the whaup.
Combs. 1. gray pliver, the knot, Calidris canutus (Slg. 1963); 2. hill plover, the golden plover, Pluvialis apricarius (Ags. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 180; Kcd. 1966); 3. pliver('s) page, applied, from their habit of flying in company with plovers, to (1) various species of Tringa or sandpiper (Sc. 1861 Zoologist XIX. 7342), esp. the dunlin, Erolia alpina (Ork. 1887 Sc. Naturalist (Jan.) 9; Cai. 1887 Harvie-Brown & Buckley Fauna Cai. 219; Sh. 1932 J. M. Saxby Trad. Lore 200; Ork. 1932; Cai. 1966); (2) the jack-snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus (I.Sc. 1837 R. Dunn Ornithol. Guide 86); 4. whistling plover, = 2. (Rnf. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 180); 5. yellow plover, id. (e.Lth. Ib., Kcd., m.Lth. 1966).1. Sc. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 195:
The sober tints of its [knot's] feathers in winter have caused it to be called . . . Grey plover (Scotland).3. (1) Hebr. 1887 A. C. Smith Birds Wilts 438:
It is . . . said that a solitary Dunlin will attach itself to a solitary Golden Plover: and this strange notion has extended to the Hebrides, where from its habit of associating with those birds, it is called the “Plover's Page”.
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"Pliver n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/pliver>
