Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1793-1993
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WIRR, v., n., int. Also wur(r), worr. [wɪr, now more commonly wʌr]
I. v. To growl, snarl, of a dog or other animal, jocularly of a person (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 212, wurr; Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 276, wurr; ne.Sc., Ags., Per. 1974); to fret, whine (Abd. 1825 Jam.). Vbl.n., ppl.adj. wurran, -in, wirrin, growling, snarling; hence as adj. crabbed, sour-tempered (Gregor).Ags. 1793 "Tam Thrum" Look before ye Loup 15:
If your friends wou'dna wirr an' snapper at sic a rate.Ags. 1819 J. Ross Angusshire Chaplet 30:
Or cottage cur at mastiff worr.Bnff. 1852 A. Harper Solitary Hours 62:
Wi' heavy branks about his jaws, He girns, and wirrs, and backlings draws.Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) 49:
Twenty lions wirrin' a' roond aboot him.Abd. 1920 G. P. Dunbar Peat Reek 18:
Saftly he wirrs fin I whisper my plan [a poacher to his dog].Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xxii.:
You an' yer wurrin tike.
II. n. 1. The growl of a dog (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 210–2, wirr, wurr; Sc. 1880 Jam.; ne.Sc., Ags. 1974); the angry noise of a cat.Abd. 1794 W. Farquhar Poems 184:
Ony curr, That ever lickit iron pot, Or ga'e a wirr.Ags. 1892 Arbroath Guide (13 Feb.) 3:
Princie gae vent to an ill-natured wurr.Abd. 1993:
E cat loupit up wi a great wurr.
2. A fit of bad temper, an angry burst of energy (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 212, wurr); a snappish heated retort (Sc. 1880 Jam.); wrath in gen. Phr. ¶to thraw one's wur, to give vent to anger.Fif. 1890 A. Burgess Poute 26:
But nevir mind, nor thraw yer wur.Ags. 1894 A. Reid Sangs 59:
Gray wa's, an' strong, that's stuid sae weel The wirr o' man, the brunt o' Time.
3. A crabbed, cantankerous, peevish, diminutive person (Abd., Kcd. 1825 Jam.), a 'spitfire'.
III. int. A word used to incite dogs to fight (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 212, wurr).
[Orig. imit., wirr implying a quieter more suppressed sound than wurr.]
