Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1828-1856, 1907-1997
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SMOT, v., n. Also smott, smote.
I. v. To mark sheep with tar or other colouring matter as a sign of ownership (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Bwk. 1970).Ayr. 1828 D. Wood Poems 60:
I likewise had a gae piece keel, To smot the sheep.Bwk. 1907 Trans. Highl. Soc. XIX. 153:
To mark, or "smott", on some part of the body, all the first tupped ewes.
II. n. 1. A spot, stain, smudge (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.); specif. a mark of ownership put on a sheep with ruddle or the like (s.Sc. 1808 Jam.; Bwk. 1970); sheep so marked, individually or collectively (s.Sc. 1825 Jam.).Sc. 1856 J. Aiton Clerical Econ. 225:
No man will break his "smote," as it is called, but at a loss.Slk. 1956 Southern Reporter (26 Jan.):
What we call "smotes", i.e., the ewes marked as due to lamb within each period of a week or five days.Dmf. 1997 Nell Thomson Spit the First Sook 14:
What better sight than a row of clippers sitting on sheep stools, good sharp shears at the ready, and the shout of rough sheep. Bist and sometimes tar was applied if a sheep got a nick, and that kept the flies off.
A good shearer was a delight to watch. Now my job was to bist, a pot of tar was melted over a fire, a smot with the owner's initials on it. This was put on the newly clipped sheep.
2. A damp stain, mouldiness, mildew (Sc. 1808 Jam.).
[O.Sc. smot(t), to spot, stain, 1513, a stain, 1532, a sheep-mark, a.1672, a variant of smut, which is however recorded later.]
