Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
DAM, n.3
1. A piece in the game of draughts (Sc. 1818 Sawers Dict. Sc. Lang.).Sc. 1858 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. (1862) i. v.:
Dams were the pieces with which the game of draughts was played.
2. In pl.: the game of draughts (Sc. 1782 J. Sinclair Ob. Sc. Dial. 159; Bnff.2, Abd.9, Fif.10 1939; Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 160; w.Rxb., e.Slk. 1802 J. Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry, Gl.). Gen. used with def. art.Sc. 1761 Session Papers, Gordon v. Gordon (7 Sept.) 9:
[She] has observed him play at Dams and Nine-pins.Sc. 1814 C. I. Johnstone Saxon and Gael I. 94:
After playing twa or three games at the dams, an' taking a chapin o' ale wi' a guid auld neebor.Bnff. 1844 T. Anderson Poems 67:
There's some for books but little care, But waste their time at cartes or dams, Yet scarce cou'd read the ten comman's.
3. Combs.: (1) dambrod, see Dambrod, n. comb. and v.; (2) damheed, the top or bottom of the dambrod (Bnff.4 1926; Abd.2, Abd.9 1939).
[O.Sc. has dams, the game of draughts (with def. art.), 1685 (D.O.S.T.); O.Fr. dame, “a man at Tables, or Draughts”; dames, “the play on the outside of a paire of Tables, called Draughts” (Cotgrave). From Fr. the word has been borrowed by most of the Teut. langs.: cf. Ger. dambrett, Norw. dam, etc.; “the playe of dammes” occurs in Eng. 1580 (N.E.D.).]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Dam n.3". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dam_n3>
