Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
RUM, n. Also rhum. In Mining, freq. in pl.: an inferior quality shale, of a bituminous sort (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms 54); a bend or dislocation in a stratum. Hence comb. rum-coal, phr. pelt and rum, id.Fif. 1837 Trans. Highl. Soc. 305:
“Pelt and Rum”, a curious local name. This substance is bituminous shale and slate with films of coal, sometimes passing into parrot coal.Fif. 1841 Trans. Highl. Soc. 397:
These bends are termed by the workmen “rums”; they are of a regular semicircular form, with the convex side towards the superior strata: the quality of the rock which forms the “rums” is harder and more crystalline than the other portions of the bed. . . . The diameter of one of the “rums”, measured horizontally, is 16 feet; from the centre to the apex of the circle, it is 5 feet; the circumference is about 30 feet.
