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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BAIRN-TIME, n.1 All the offspring of one mother (of persons and animals). [′berntəim]Sc. [1834] J. Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) IV. 74:
Them that saw a' their bairntime meltin awa till they had to kneel down by their ain twa sels in prayer.
Ayr. 1786 Burns To his Auld Mare xv.:
My pleugh is now thy bairn-time a'; Four gallant brutes, as e'er did draw.
Gall. a.1868 Curriehill:
Bairntime means properly the whole children of a family, thus: “It's a wise wife that wots the weird o' a' her hail bairntime.”
Rxb. 1821 A. Scott Poems 50:
O' nature's ancient bairntime near o' kin, Three stately brithers.

[O.Sc. barnteme, -tyme, bairnteme, -tyme, etc., O.E. bearn-tēam, begetting children. The proper spelling is -teme, the other spellings are influenced by time, O.E. tīma.]

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"Bairn-time n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bairntime_n1>

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