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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Quotation dates: 1880

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POD, n. Also pode (Uls.). The louse, Pediculus capitis (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 131).Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.:
Children are warned that if they do not allow their heads to be combed with a “fine tooth comb”, the podes will make ropes of their hair, and drag them into the sea and drown them.

[Orig. uncertain. The Uls. form suggests a connection with obs. Eng. pode, a toad, from the louse's similar appearance when magnified. The currency of the word in Bnff. is otherwise unauthenticated. If genuine, it may be a different word, phs. a variant of Pud, a squat, fat creature.]

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