Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
SHIRT, n. Also shurt (Arg. 1703 F. F. Mackay Carskey Jnl. 47). Sc. usages:
1. A woman's undergarment, a chemise, vest (Sc. 1787 J. Beattie Scoticisms 84), obs. in Eng., and in Sc. possibly surviving only as an anglicising of Sark.
2. The last cloth in which cheese curd is wrapped in the press (see quot).Lnk. 1885 Trans. Highl. Soc. 62:
A hot cloth taken out of boiling water is exchanged for the first cloth the first night, and a dry cloth is substituted for the wet one each day while it remains in the press, the last, called the “shirt”, remaining on the cheese for a month.
†3. In pl.: wild mustard, Sinapis arvensis, esp. its seeds (s.Sc. 1802 J. Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry Gl.).Bwk. 1858 G. Johnston Botany E. Borders 35:
The seeds, under the name of shirts are given as a favourite food to the Linnet.
