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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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

‡CWINTRY, CWINTREE, CWEENTRY, KWINTRY, KWINTRA, n. Also quintra, queentra, quintry, queentry, kwentry, cuintray. ne.Sc. forms of Eng. country (Sc. 1911 S.D.D., kwintra; n.Sc. 1825 Jam.², quintry; Bnff.² 1941, cwintree, cweentry; Abd. 1915 H. Beaton Back o' Benachie 60, kwentry; Abd. 1930 “Buchan Hummlie” in Bch. Observer (18 Dec.), cwintree; Abd.² 1941, cwintry). Found also with senses as in Countra. Also used attrib. See Countra, Cuintrie and Kintra for forms current in other districts. [′kwɪntrə, ′kwintrə, ′kwɪ̢ntrɪ̢, ′kwɪntri (poet.)]Bnff.(D) 1847 A. Cumming Tales of the North 51:
O, curse upon them and their covenant tee! to set a' the quintry in sic a steer!Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 51:
Northert frae this I aften heard them say, That their ain cuintray Flaviana lay.Abd. 1826 D. Anderson Poems 94:
. . . gang unto the kirk wi' him, An' see his queentra queans.Abd. 1879 G. Macdonald Sir Gibbie II. vii.:
Glashgar's as quaiet an' weel-behaved a hill as ony in a' the cweentry. [In Malcolm (1875) I. xvi. queentry is found.]Abd.(D) 1929 J. Alexander Mains and Hilly 2:
Tho' we're weel into Janiwar', awa' up the kwintry there's a gweed lot o' stuff oot yet.Bch. 1932 P. Giles in Abd. Univ. Review (March) 106:
She wiz Hielan' an' cam' doon ta this quintry first ta keep house tull 'er breeder.

Comb.: cwintry-side, quintra —, the country-side (Bnff.², Abd.⁹ 1941).Bnff. 1923 W.C. in Bnffsh. Jnl. (24 July):
Better that nor haikin' the cwintry-side.Abd. a.1879 W. Forsyth Sel. from Writings (1882) 16:
An, then-o'-days the quintra side . . . Wis ae bleak muir, o' sax miles wide.