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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

FOLLOW, v. Also follie; folla (Arg., Ayr); follae (Fif., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf. 2000s); folly, foley; folloo (Cai. 1872 M. McLennan Peasant Life 10). Sc. forms and usages of Eng. follow. [n.Sc. ′folə, m. and s.Sc. ′fole]

Sc. forms: Gsw. 1988 Michael Munro The Patter Another Blast 24:
folly or foley Local variants of follow: 'You jump in the aul boys' motor an foley us tae the airport'.Dundee 1989 W. N. Herbert in Joy Hendry Chapman 55-6 94:
Ur yi draain near, yi ancient bards?
Wur follyin yi, an thi path is haurd. ne.Sc. 1992 Sheila Douglas ed. The Sang's the Thing: Voices from Lowland Scotland 253:
'Ma mither - she wis a Portknockie quine - follaed the guttin fae the day she left the school. ...'ne.Sc. 1992 Sheila Douglas ed. The Sang's the Thing: Voices from Lowland Scotland 253:
I often argued wi ma faither aboot follaein in his footsteps and gan tae the sea.Dundee 1994 Matthew Fitt in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 175:
Thair een follaed him aa the wey doon the street an intae a roch-lookin pub. Tellt ye, thai noddit, turnin awa.m.Sc. 1994 Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay Forever Yours, Marie-Lou 12:
If ah'da follied your advice, ah'da ended up like you the day!Fif. 1994 William Hershaw in Daniel O'Rourke Dream State 49:
...Noo ay allooin
Fir fause sentiment that follys deith,
The plants he settled wi his haunds
Are ayeways grouwinFif. 1998 Tom Hubbard Isolde's Luve-Daith 4:
As mony year it seemed as we follaed thon fankle
O pit-mirk pads whaur I wis feart ti hyter
Ower the skelets o men an aiblins o weemen an weans:wm.Sc. 2000 Liz Lochhead Medea 4:
creepan through the labyrinthine palace
follying her hatred like a thread ...

Sc. usages:

1. To accompany, escort on a journey, see (someone) home (Sh., Ork. 1952).Sh. 1879 Shet. Times (3 May):
Tak' weel aboot dee, Babie, an' follow Robbie hame.Uls. 1910 C. C. Russell Ulster 27:
He follied her hame.Sh. 1932 J. M. E. Saxby Trad. Lore 194:
A child too young to walk on its own feet must, on no account, “follow a man to the sea.”

2. To gratify every wish of (someone), to pamper (Abd.²⁷ 1952). Ppl.adj. follat, petted, spoiled, of a child (Id.).Abd.² 1943:
A muckle follat vratch o' a bairn that canna be contert.

3. With out: to pursue to a conclusion, carry out, execute (a plan). Occas. in Eng. for follow (up), but considered a Scotticism in the 18th cent. (Sc. 1787 J. Beattie Scotticisms 35).Sc. 1762 Kames Elements Crit. I. 36:
Avarice having got possession of his mind, he follows out that theme to the end, and never returns to the question proposed in the beginning.

4. Comb. and derivs.: †(1) followander, a follower, an assistant [from the obs. pr.p. followand + -er]; (2) follow-dick, a “shadow,” hanger-on, toady (Kcb. 1894 Crockett Raiders xvi.); (3) follower, the young of any animal, esp. while still dependent on the mother. Gen.Sc. Sometimes of a little child; (4) following, (a) a body of retainers, domestic or military. Now mainly Sc. hist., esp. in reference to Highland chiefs; †(b) Mining: an overlying stratum which comes down as the mineral is extracted from under it (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms, s.v. falling).(1) Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS.:
The foreman pairtet the muck an' the followanders spread or broke it.(2) Kcb. 1897 Crockett Lads' Love xxi.:
“Followdick!” she said. . . . The epithet implied at once the meanness of a spy, the superfluousness of the third party in those affairs of love where two is company — as well as the contemptible nature of one who not only imitates another, but thrusts his ungrateful society upon the imitated.(3) Fif. 1793 D. Jamie Ballingry (1890) 61:
Two cows and their followers, one stud mear and her followers, six ewes and a ram and their followers.Sc. 1811 J. Macdonald Agric. Hebr. 145:
25 shillings for every cow and followers, i.e. one three, one two, and one one year old, with the dam; and 5 shillings for every sheep with followers.Slk. 1829 Hogg Tales (1874) 202:
She has a follower too, poor woman! a dear kind-hearted, little girl.Sc. 1887 Jam.:
A hen and its followers, a cow and its follower.Ayr. 1953 B.B.C. Broadcast (1 Jan.):
At Mossgiel . . . we keep fifty cows and followers.(4) (a) Sc. 1711 Hist. MSS. Comm. Report (Portland MSS.) X. 367:
Duke Gordon — He has the best following in the kingdom, especially for gentry; . . . he has a great following of Highland foot, for he is Superior of Lochaber Str[i]doun and Glenlivat.Sc. 1816 Scott Letters (Cent. ed.) IV. 178:
You will be surprized to learn what a following I could turn out.Sc. 1830 Scott Tales Grandfather lxxii.:
The dignity of the Chief of the Frasers — no empty honour, since the clan contained a following of from seven hundred to a thousand men.Sc. 1847 R. Chambers Hist. Rebellion I. 70:
Stewart of Glenbuckie . . . and Macgregor of Glencairnaig . . . were both passing Leny House . . . with their respective “followings” to join the Prince.(b) m.Lth. 1770 Session Papers, Henry v. Clerk State of Process 48:
They either use wooden stoops, or take down the following altogether, and mure up the level behind them above the flags.w.Lth. 1845–7 Trans. Highl. Soc. 233:
The coal was worked along with the ironstone, which is in the Following, or soft stratum which lies immediately above the coal.