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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Quotation dates: 1776

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THIMBER, adj. ?Gross, heavy, cumbrous.Sc. 1776 The Wee Wee Man in Child Ballads No. 38. A. ii.:
His legs were scarce a shathmont's length, And thick and thimber was his thigh.

[Jam. suggests derivation from O.N. þungbœ́rr, heavy, burdensome, but the word is not otherwise attested and may be spurious. Other versions of the ballad read nimble. Possibly limber was intended with l- altered to th- under the influence of thick and thigh.]

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