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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BLAEBERRY, Blaeu —, n. The bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus. The name is known all over Scotland as well as in n.Eng. and as far south as Salop (E.D.D.). Used both for the plant and its fruit.Sc. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Shepherd Act II Sc. iv. in Poems (1728):
Nae Birns, or Briers, or Whins e'er troubled me, Gif I cou'd find blae Berries ripe for thee.
Ork.(D) 1908 J. T. S. Leask in Old-Lore Misc., Ork., Sh., etc. I. vi. 221:
Blaeu berries graeu tick aboot her teu whin I war a bairn gan tae da ald schule at Button.
Ags. 1891 J. M. Barrie Little Minister (2nd ed.) iv.:
Gavin was standing on grass, but there were patches of heather within sight, and broom, and the leaf of the blaeberry.
Bwk. 1879 W. Chisholm Poems 54:
An' there, while the blaeberries puin', He wad hear the birds liltin' above.
Rnf. 1807 R. Tannahill Poems and Songs 21:
The blae-berry banks, now, are lonesome an' dreary, O Muddy are the streams that gush'd down sae clearly, O.

[O.Sc. blaberry in Henryson (c.1470–1480). O.N. blāber, Sw. blåbär and Dan. blaabær, the bilberry.]

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"Blaeberry n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 20 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/blaeberry>

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