Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1785, 1879
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†WOOER-BAB, n.comb. 1. One of a pair of garters knotted in loops below the knee, a sign of the wearer's intention to propose marriage (wm.Sc. 1825 Jam.). See Bab, n.1Ayr. 1785 Burns Halloween iii.:
The lads sae trig, wi' wooer-babs, Weel knotted on their garten.
2. A neck-cloth or the like fastened in a lover's knot with the ends showing (wm.Sc. 1825 Jam.).Fif. 1879 W. D. Latto Song Sermons 37:
The crape strings of her Sunday bonnet were doubtless deftly twisted into what men of old time used to call "wooerbabs."
