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.
RAFTER, n. Sc. usages. See also Raghter.
1. A horizontal bar in a timber fence.Sc. 1799 Prize Essays Highl. Soc. 95:
Stobs of the same length, with rafters fixed to them with wooden pins of willow, in the manner already described, make an immediate fence, which is very cheap, and easily kept up for seven years.
2. A cross-spar used in a kiln for smoking herring.e.Lth. 1778 D. Loch Tour 11:
They [herring] are afterwards spitted through the mouth, with wooden spits of four feet long, and then hung on spars, at proper distances, on the luffs or rafters, as the fishermen call them.
