Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

KNYPE, v.¹, n. Also knyp, knip(e), kneip, kneep. [knəip, knɪp; Ags. tnəip]

I. v. 1. To knock, strike sharply (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 227; ‡Abd., Uls. 1960). Also with ower, to knock over with violence (Gregor, Bnff.² 1927).Abd. 1868 G. Macdonald R. Falconer vi.:
He kneipit their heids thegither, as gin they hed been twa carldoddies.Bnff. 1958 Banffshire Jnl. (8 April):
The water's owre drumlie an' the fish are keepin' doon, Ma flee gaes juikin' roon aboot an knipes me i' the croon.

2. To “jog on” steadily, to keep going, to work away (ne.Sc., Ags. 1960), freq. with on (Id.).Abd. 1924 Swatches o' Hamespun 71:
Gin ye haud knypin, ye'll wun the eyn o' yer journey in coorse.Ags. 1952 Forfar Dispatch (4 Dec.):
She's knipit awa at the knittin or her beens is a' sair.Abd. 1956 Bon-Accord (27 Dec.):
“Fit's daein'?” . . . “Tyauch; knipin' on, ye ken.”Abd. 1981 Christina Forbes Middleton The Dance in the Village 70:
The time cam for me tae be knipin' on
An' mak nae mistak, I wis sweer - Abd. 1990 Stanley Robertson Fish-Hooses (1992) 51:
Peggy gently replied, "Aye knypin on." She didnae ken whit it meant, for it wis a saying amongst the menfolk, but somehow she felt it wis the right thing tae say at the time. ne.Sc. 1993 Ronald W. McDonald in A. L. Kennedy and Hamish Whyte New Writing Scotland 11: The Ghost of Liberace 71:
...the young loon Phimister fae the oot-fairm at Burnt Top wis kneipen hame oan his bike.ne.Sc. 2003 Press and Journal (6 Oct) 12:
Tae feenish, it's the English "as she is wrote" fin I read on Setterday o es feel gype o a mannie on's road fae Land's End tae John O'Groats, traivellin bare-naikit. He'd better knype on afore the frosty wither gets a haud o him.

II. n. A light blow, a knock or tap on the head or on a door (Mry.¹ 1925). Dim. kneepy.Per. 1738 F. & W. Moncrieff Moncrieffs (1929) 440:
He had been at the Assembly and given his Brother a Kneepy.Abd. 1825 Jam.:
I'll gie ye a knyp o'er the head.

Phr.: to cry knyp, to go smack. Cf. Knap, n.², 1. Phr., Knip, n.³.Abd. 1875 W. Alexander My Ain Folk 97:
None o' yer impident chat here, sir, or I'll gar yer chafts cry knyp owre that ill-hung tongue o' yours.