Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BUTTERIE, n.¹ A butter biscuit (Bnff.², Abd.²², Ags.¹ 1937); “a morning roll with fat as a predominant ingredient, as distinct from the plain Bap” (Abd. 1936 (per Mry.²)), “and sweetened with sugar” (Ags.¹⁷ 1937); also called butterie rowie (Abd.², Abd.⁹ 1937). [′bʌtərɪ̢]Abd. 1994 Press and Journal 22 Jun 16:
Is there a difference between a rowie and a buttery? That is the question. I had assumed they were one and the same, but that the buttery was the country monicker and the rowie the word used by Toonsers. For more than 30 years, I have laboured under this gross ignorance. Not so. According to a colleague who has made a detailed study of the etymology, construction and origin of the buttery/rowie, there are distinct differences. A conversation with a respected baker or two would appear to back him up. "A rowie has a curved bottom. A buttery is flat." So now you know.Ags. 1899 Arbroath Guide (21 Oct.) 3/5:
Between butteries, Rob Roys an' turnovers . . . her basket was weel filled.Ags.(D) 1922 J. B. Salmond Bawbee Bowden xiv.:
[I was] takin' a chack at a butterie.