Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
FIGMALEERY, n. Also figmaleerie, -lirie.
1. A whim, fancy, crotchet.Sc. 1730 Ramsay Poems (1800) II. 496:
But Bess the whig, a raving rump, Took figmaliries, and wald jump.
2. A fancy ornament or trimming (Abd.27, Fif.10 1945). Also attrib.Edb. 1882 J. Smith Hum. Sc. Stories 14:
Ye'll pit on yer sou-backit mutch . . . and yer grand figmaleery bannit.Lnk. 1922 T. S. Cairncross Scot at Hame 32:
And as for Jenny buyin' silk And furs and figmalerie.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Figmaleery n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 22 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/figmaleery>
