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.
‡GOWF, n.2, v.2 Also gowff, gouf(f), ¶gowph. [gʌuf]
I. n. A dull blow, a hit, slap, buffet (Cld. 1880 Jam., gouf; Ayr. 1923 Wilson Dial. Burns 166; Uls. 1931 North. Whig (11 Dec.) 13; ‡Abd., m.Lth. 1955). Sometimes used adv. Also in Nhb. dial.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 130:
Yet set me in a Claret Howff, Wi' Fowk that's chancy, My Muse may len me then a Gowff To clear my Fancy.Abd. 1739 in Caled. Mag. (1788) 503:
Wi' a firm gowph he fell'd the t'ane But wi' a gowph the tither, Fell'd him that day.Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems 173:
Davie Douf, Davie Douf, gi'e the Doctor a gouf.Edb. 1811 H. Macneill Bygane Times 15:
Whan I see . . . ilk ane striking the tee'd ba, Maun I no . . . gie't a gowf as weil's the rest?Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry 205:
There were sic gouffs, and youffs, and swaks.Gsw. 1877 A. G. Murdoch Laird's Lykewake 121:
When, gowff, her steek'd neive took my lug, An' pat me on my mettle.Arg. 1882 Argyllsh. Herald (3 June):
I gied Lizzie a gowf on the haffats an' sent her awa as fast as a whitterock for the doctor.
Phrs.: †1. in the gowff o' the wadder, in the full force of the blast, exposed to the elements; †2. to the gowf, to wrack and ruin (Abd. 1825 Jam.).1. Abd.14 c.1915:
I hae to stan i' the gowff o' the wadder fin I gyang for watter.Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS.:
It [door] wis jist in the gouf o' the widder and she didna bid me come in.2. Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxxvii.:
I mitha socht till arreenge things an' expeck that he wudna ca't a' to the gowf i' the hin'er en'!Abd. 1875 W. Alexander My Ain Folk 121:
They canna weel affoord to lat 'im gae to the gowff.
II. v. To hit, strike, “to strike with the open hand” (Cld. 1880 Jam., gowf, gouf; Ayr. 1923 Wilson Dial. Burns 166); “to hit a ball with the hand in the game of Han'-an'-hail [see Hand, I. 8. (1)]” (Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 27; ‡Abd., m.Lth. 1955); “to strike with a soft substance” (Uls.2 1929). ¶With aff: to hit off, throw off (a poem).Abd. 1739 in Caled. Mag. (1788) 501:
Gowph'd him alang his shins a blaise.Ayr. 1787 Burns A Fragment ix.:
But, word an' blow, North, Fox, and Co. Gowff'd Willie like a ba', man.Bwk. 1807 A. Hewit Poems 62:
At poor folk's bairnies dinna sneer, Nor gouf them for the want o' gear.Ags. 1815 W. Gardiner Poems 22:
Sae, Nick, if ye've gat him, hard gouff him an' bat him.Lnk. 1877 W. Watson Poems 190:
Weel done yet, Alick, sing awa, An' gowf yer stanzas aff fu' braw.Lnk. 1893 J. Crawford Sc. Verses 37:
In their games at the skule, he excelled ane an' a', At the rounders, the shinty, or gowfin' the ba'.Gsw. 1927 D. Murray Old Coll. Gsw. 445:
When either the foot-ball or the hand-ball had been kicked or gowfed by one side to the end of their opponents' ground the ball was said to be “hailed.”
Phr. & Comb.: 1. gouffin brods, some portion of a loom consisting of wooden boards that strike on one another when in motion, ? the heddles; 2. gouf-the-ba', n., the game of hand-ball.1. Lnk. 1813 G. MacIndoe Wandering Muse 53:
John's haffets smak't like gouffin-brods, Disputing for the glory.2. Gsw. 1927 D. Murray Old Coll. Gsw. 424:
The most popular of Scottish games for many generations was Hand-Ball . . . otherwise Gouff-the-ba'. . . . The ball — as I remember it — was made of thrums or weavers' ends wound round a cork or a core of feathers to the size of a good orange and enclosed in a knitted cover, often worked in segments of bright and different colours.
