Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

GLAFF, n., v. Also ¶glauve.

I. n. 1. A glimpse, gleam, a moment.Sc. 1834 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1856) IV. 158:
I flang . . . them . . . ower the precipice . . . Dreadfu' was the yellin, for ae glaff and ae glint; far doun it deadened.
Per. 1895 R. Ford Tayside Songs 36:
But an' ben, an' oot an' in, He flits just like a sun-glaff.

2. A sudden blast of cold or hot air, “as, ‘a glaff o' wind,' a puff, a slight and sudden blast” (Upp. Cld., Lth., Borders 1825 Jam.; Bnff. 1927; ‡Cai.7 1954). Also fig.Mry. 1828 “J. Ruddiman” Tales 68:
The cauld glaff of that ondinging has not left my inward parts to this blessed hour.
Lnk. 1881 Mod. Sc. Poets III. 138:
She socht but a glaff o' the ingle sae cheerie, To help her to combat the snell wind an' sleet.
Fif. 1884 “S. Tytler” St Mungo II. xxiv.:
Miss Janet would say abruptly there was “a het glaff off the plain-stanes.”
Edb. 1915 T. W. Paterson Auld Saws 65:
Here an' there, a' took their pairts, Glaff o' Heaven had flamed their hairts.

3. A fright, a shock (Dmf. 1950 per Fif.17), as from cold water; a surprise (Fif.17 1954).Mry.1 1925:
Some of them dooked in the dam, but did not enjoy it at all, not having enough to put off the caul glaff.
Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 27:
What a glaff ye gied me.

Phr.: to tak one's glauve, “to go neck deep in the water bathing” (Bnff. 1916 T.S.D.C. II.).

II. v. To blow gently, to be wafted.Lnk. 1865 J. Hamilton Poems & Sk. 51:
And hinny breath o' heather bells Comes glaffin on the breeze.

[Prob. onomat.: cf. Gliff, Gloff, Gluff, with similar meanings.]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Glaff n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/glaff>

12865

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: