Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
BRATTOCK, n. The young of an animal, specif. a young eider-duck, Somateria molissima.e.Lth. 1858 Chambers's Jnl. (14 Aug.) 108:
A solitary pair of eider-ducks may sometimes venture to rear their progeny of “brattocks” on the rock. e.Lth. 1891 Edb. Ev. Dispatch (1 May):
Didna Her Maijesty get brattocks frae the auld pond in Mark Barker's time, an' d'ye think she can ha'e forgotten them when ilka brattock cost her a pound a piece, as Mark has often tell't me?
[Orig. doubtful. Poss. a dim. form of Eng. brat in transf. sense.]
