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.
SPILE, v.2 Also spuil, speyl, spyle. Sc. forms of Eng. spoil (Rxb. 1712 J. J. Vernon Par. Hawick (1900) 99; Abd. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 XIII. 624 note, spuil; m.Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick 13, 148; Fif. 1895 S. Tytler Kincaid's Widow xvii.; Fif., Lth., Ayr. 1923–26 Wilson; Bnff. 1924 Swatches o' Hamespun 9; Abd. 1930 Abd. Univ. Mag. (March) 105). Also ppl.adj. spylit, spylte. See P.L.D. § 46 (2), and cf. Spill, of different orig., which it has replaced. [spəil]Sc. 1993 Herald 19 Jun 7:
Then she spiled it all by telling me that there are mountains which are wee-er but she doesn't know what size they are to get called a word she cannot recollect. Abd. 1998 Sheena Blackhall The Bonsai Grower 18:
"A spylit, thankless, lazy vratch," banned Auld Dod Mowatt. "Yon's fit ye get fur bladdin a guid fairmer wi education." wm.Sc. 2000 Liz Lochhead Medea 3:
and Medea left to rot
among the spylte and wastit love she's stuck wi
she's chucked out like Gsw. 2001 Linda McLean transl. Olga 30:
The forests wur raped. Every good thing wis speylt.
