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: 1827-1927
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TOVE, v.2, n.2 [to:v]
I. v. 1. To talk in a friendly, animated and prolix way, to gossip, chat (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 157; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.), freq. in pbr. to tove and crack (Jam.).Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry 166:
Thusgates the lairds did tove and crack.Lnk. 1827 J. Watt Poems 93:
We tov'd an' drank till baith were fu'.Fif. 1841 C. Gray Lays 5:
I tove awa by the ingle-side, And tell o' the blasts I was wont to bide.Ags. 1892 F. F. Angus Susie ii.:
I was tovin wi' a Killameur man the ither day.
2. To flirt or flaunt about with girls (Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 157).
II. n. 1. A chat, talk or gossip.Ags. 1889 Barrie W. in Thrums xiv.:
Hendry stopped to have what he called a tove with any likely person he encountered.Kcb. 1903 Crockett Banner of Blue vi.:
I wadna gie yae guid tove wi' auld Anton MacMillan for a' the bletherin' lot.Ayr. 1924 J. Innes Till a' the Seas i.:
As they met in the road for a tove.Rxb. 1927 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick 22:
Oo'll heh a gless an a tove thegither for auld lang seine.
2. A coquettish person of either sex, a flirt (Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 157).
[Orig. uncertain, phs. the same word as Tove, v.1, n.1, though the semantic development is not clear. But cf. Tove, v.1, 5., n.1, 1.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Tove v.2, n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tove_v2_n2>
