Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
DIRTEN ALLEN, -A(L)LAN, DIRTY-, -AULIN, n. comb. The skua, Stercorarius crepidatus (Ork. 1806 P. Neill Tour 201, dirten-allan; Cai.7 1940, dirty allan; Mry. 1844 G. Gordon Fauna of Mry. in Zoologist (Feb.), -allen; Bnff.9 c.1927, -allan; Abd. 1881 W. Paul Past and Present (2nd ed.) 124, dirten-alan; Ags. 1784 T.C. in Gentleman's Mag. ii. 505, dirty aulin). Cf. dirt-bird s.v. Dirt, n., 4.Lth. 1771 T. Pennant Tour 1769 62:
The species . . . persecutes and pursues the lesser kinds, till they mute through fear, when it catches up their excrements e'er [sic] they reach the water: the boatmen, on that account, styled it the dirty Aulin.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Dirten Allen n. comb.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dirten_allen>
