Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
TRINK, n., v. Also trenk. Dims. trinkie; trinket (Uls.). [trɪŋk]
I. n. 1. A narrow open drain or trench, gen. for the passage of water, a gutter, ditch, runnel (Bnff. 1792 Trans. Bnff. Field Club (1889) 59; Cai., Abd. 1825 Jam.; Cai. 1905 E.D.D.; ne.Sc., Ags., Fif. 1973); a street-gutter (Uls. 1973); the bed or channel of a stream; a narrow channel, inlet or creek between coastal rocks (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Ork. 1929 Marw.; I. and n.Sc., Ags., Fif. 1973); the water flowing in such channels (Abd. 1825 Jam.); fig. the hollow groove between the nostrils and the upper lip (Uls. 1904 Victoria Coll. Mag. 46). Adj. trinky, narrow, esp. of a sea-creek (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Ork. 1929 Marw.; Sh. 1973), slender, thin (Marw., a lang trinky stane).Rs. 1741 W. MacGill Old Ross-shire (1911) II. 100:
A trink by the flood made directly through the land.Mry. 1763 Session Papers, Dunbar v. Dunbar State of Process 37:
The said Trink, which conveyed the Black Acre Water Down by Tilleyglin's Meikle Park.Sh. 1771 Old-Lore Misc. IV. iv. 193:
Along the seashore westward to Hagmarksgoe to the small trink on the banks.Cai. 1772 Session Papers, Petition D. Forbes (28 July) 42:
The old trink of the water of Brora.Abd. 1797 Session Cases, Fraser v. Leslie (19 Oct.) 19:
The old channel or trink of Don, as they call it, was at the back of the Broadhill.Ags. a.1840 A. Laing Raid o' Fearn (1885) 9:
But Fearn men dously made a trenk, They dug it lang and wide.Fif. 1863 St Andrews Gazette (26 Dec.):
An' in the toons the gutter trinket Fills a' the street.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 78:
They hirschlet the trees down the face o' the hill in a trink they made for the purpose.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 50:
Tae see the trink atween him an' the land fairly flou'd ower.Cai. 1909 D. Houston 'E Silkie Man 7:
'Ey pu'd in throu' 'e trink.Abd. 1959 People's Jnl. (28 Nov.) 9:
Yarkin' wi' an aul' hyow makin' trinkies for't [water] tae win awa' fae the door.Ork. 1992:
The
water made its own trink between the blocks in the chimney and got in
that way ... there was a bubble in the ceiling and a lot of water lying
above it.
2. A rut in a road (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 198; ne.Sc., Ags. 1973). Also fig. Comb. and deriv. cairt-trink, a cart-track, a rutted road (Abd. 1973); trinkie, adj., filled with ruts (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 198).Abd. 1916 G. Abel Wylins 116:
They stappit ower the trinkies rinnin' red.Abd. 1929 J. Alexander Mains & Hilly 99:
We canna weel wun oot o' the trinks we wis gart traivel in fin we wis bairns.Bnff. 1950 Banffshire Jnl. (25 April):
Often the journey to the grave was long, the roads but mere cart-‘trinks'.
3. In quarries: a long narrow flagstone (Cai. 1905 E.D.D.).
II. v. tr. To cut into ruts (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 198); intr. to become filled with ruts (Id.). Hence trinket, trinkit, (1) rutted, filled with ruts (Id.; Bnff., Abd. 1973); (2) long and narrow, contracted (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.).(1) Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS. xviii.:
The roads wis terrible broken and trinkit.
