Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1874, 1956
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0]
WHISHIE, n. Also whushie; whuskie, whusky-, and in fuller form whushie-whey-beard. The whitethroat, Sylvia communis (e.Lth. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 23, Bwk. 1889 G. Muirhead Birds Bwk. I. 57, whuskie(-whey-beard)). Also in comb. whusky Tam, id.Bwk. 1874 Hist. Bwk. Nat. Club VII. 296:
The Whitethroat is popularly known as the "Whushie-Whey-Beard."Lnk. 1956 Scottish Field (Feb.) 8:
Every bird-nesting boy in my part of the country applied that name [Bletherin' Tam] and "Whusky Tam" to the whitethroat.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Whishie n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/whishie>
