Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BOWIN, n.¹ One of the species of wrasse (Labridæ) (Ayr. a.1838 Jam. MSS. X. 7). [′bʌɪn]Gall.¹ 1933:
I got a local fisherman here to talk to me about wrasse, whereof there are plenty on this rocky coast. He called the fish “bowin.”