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.
¶TEARLIE, n. See quot.Abd. 1847 Zoologist V. 1909:
A larger tern, the specific name of which I have not yet ascertained, has obtained, on the sea coast near Peterhead, the name of the tearlie, a word which is a most correct imitation of its usual cry.
