Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1964
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SWANKIE, prop.n. A surname common among the fisher population of Arbroath and neighbourhood, poss. arising from swankie s.v. Swank, adj., orig. used as a nickname. Hence Swankie's doo, -hen, a jocular local name for a sea-gull (Ags. 1972).Ags. 1964 Dundee Courier (21 March) 8:
“Swankie's hens” are made of more mettlesome stuff than the farmyard variety.
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"Swankie prop. n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/swankie>
