Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
SERAPHIM, n. Sc. usage: a fossil crustacean rather like a king crab found in the Old Red Sandstone esp. at Carmyllie in Angus and so-called from its resemblance to the carved angels or seraphs on 17th c. tombstones (see quots.).Ags. 1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian System 606:
The name of Seraphim was given to these singular winged bodies (Pterygotus, Agassiz) by the Scotch quarrymen, who first found them in the Old Red Sandstone of Forfarshire.Ags. 1841 H. Miller Old Red Sandstone 147:
The workmen in the quarries . . . struck by the resemblance which the delicately-waved scales bear to the sculptured markings on the wings of cherubs, — of all subjects of the chisel the most common, — fancifully termed them Seraphim.
