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.
Quotation dates: 1757-1927
[0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
SHIVE, n. Also sheive. A slice (of bread) (Sc. 1741 A. M'Donald Galick Vocab. 21, Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Peb., Bwk., s.Sc. 1970). Also in Eng. dial. Hence shiver, a contrivance for slicing bread. [ʃɑev]Dmf. 1757 Dmf. Testaments MS. XIV. 392:
A marking iron, a shiver frame.Sc. 1802 Young Beichan in Child Ballads (1882) I. 469:
Gie me a shive of your white bread.Dmf. 1823 J. Kennedy Poems 70:
The wheaten loaf in mony a shive.Slk. 1836 Fraser's Mag. (May) 617:
As I'm spreadin' this shive o' bread.Rxb. 1868 Trans. Hawick Arch. Soc. 27:
Eleven cups o' tea and eight shives o' bread.Kcb. 1899 Gallovidian I. 15:
A shive or twa o' broon Geordie.Rxb. 1927 Spectator (3 Dec.) 979:
A slice of bread, etc., cut carefully was a “shive”.
