Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CORTER, Korter, n. A piece of oat-cake, a quarter of a round. ne.Sc. [′kɔrtər]Abd.(D) 1755 R. Forbes Jnl. from London 28:
An honester fellow never brack the nook o' a corter.Abd.(D) 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb viii.:
That's a piece o' the kitchie kyaaks. . . . Is there mair o't? Eh aye — here's twa korters.Abd. 1988 Jack Webster Another Grain of Truth (1989) 29:
I willingly joined in the ritual of 'milk-an-breid', which amounted to a bowl of milk, into which a corter of oatcakes was broken and supped in heary spoonfuls by young men who wanted to grow up with mush [sic] on their arms.

Phrs.: (1) corter o' breid, id. (Bnff.² 1937); (2) croon o' the corter, the right-angled (i.e. top) corner of an oat-eake (Id.); fig. “the principal or best part of any thing” (Abd. 1825 Jam.²).(1) Bch. 1940 C. Gavin Hostile Shore x.:
But I winna lay doon the makkin' o' a girdle scone or a corter o' breid to ony white-faced woman.(2) Abd.¹⁵ 1930:
It's ull mennirs, loon, te brak the croon o' the corter.