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.
SOCHER, v., adj. Also saugher, Derivs. socrach, ¶sotrach. [′sǫxər]
I. v. To pamper or cosset oneself, to be fussy about one's health (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Rnf. 1958); to move or carry on in a sluggish spiritless manner, to dawdle about without method or purpose (Sc. 1818 Sawers, saugher). Freq. in ppl.adj. saughrin, -an, lacking in energy, inactive, sluggish, soft and flaccid in character or action (Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems 244).Sc. 1818 Sawers:
One who takes too much care of himself, is called a saughrin creature.Edb. 1822 R. Wilson Poems 106:
An' just a set o' saughrin' chields Wha mak the siller maist.Abd. 1845 T. Denham Poems 185:
He's neither eechie nor ochie, but jaest a saughrin, doitrified-like scoun'rel wi' ae e'e!Rnf. 1862 A. M'Gilvray Poems 281:
Man, dinna sit socherin'; Get up, in gude's name, frae your b-m.Gsw. 1863 W. Miller Nursery Songs 45–6:
If folk wad be cautious when takin' a drappy, . . . . An' dinna be sochrin' frae July to June wi't.Slg. 1885 A. Murray Poems 64:
Wheen saughrin' maudrins hae pretence To gumption, smergh, an' smeddum.
II. adj. 1. Lazy, effeminate, inactive from delicate living (n.Sc. 1825 Jam., socher). Deriv. †socrach, †sotrach, used subst. for a good-natured easy-going person (Arg. 1936 L. McInnes S. Kintyre 12, obs.).
2. In deriv. form socrach, dry, reserved (Bnff. 1920).
[Of Gael. orig., two words having become confused in Sc., viz. socair [′soxkɪr], n., adj., calm, ease, quietness, tranquil, quiet, adj. socrach, sedate, not easily ruffled, comfortable, and sochar [′soxər], softness, compliance, indulgence, socharach, bashful, shy.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Socher v., adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 22 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/socher>