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.
EERIE, n. Given in quot. as meaning yarrow, Achillea millefolium, but this is otherwise unsupported and other versions of the rhyme read Eevie, n.Abd. 1883 W. Jolly J. Duncan 351:
He plucked a bit of common Yarrow and told me that the plant was once called ‘Eerie’, as lasses used to take it and put it in their breasts as a charm, repeating this rhyme— ‘Eerie, eerie, I do pluck And in my bosom I do put; The first young lad that speaks to me, The same shall my true lover be.’
