Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
GISSIE, -Y, int., n. Also gisi, geesie, gis, geese. Common in n.Eng. dial Cf. Gussie. [′gɪse, ′gis(i)]
I. int. A call used to pigs (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), gis(i); Ayr. 1923 Wilson Dial. Burns 166, gissie; Lth. 1926 Wilson Cent. Scot. 245, gis(sie); Ork. 1929 Marw., geese-geese; Sh., Cai., Fif., Knr., Hdg., Bwk.3 (geesie), Peb., Ayr., Gall., Rxb.4 (gis(sie)) 1954).Fif. 1952 Daily Record (24 May):
When we, too, wished to rouse the somnolent pig in the crave it was always as “Gissy-gissy,” that we “addressed” him.
II. n. A pig, a sow (Cai.7, Per.4 1950), a young sow (Ayr.4 1928).
[Norw. dial. gis, call-word to swine, Sw. dial. giss, id., ? from O.N. griíss, a young pig, with dropping of r. ]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Gissie interj., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 21 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/gissie>