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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

LOWP, v., n. Also loup; lup (Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 34; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.), loop; lope. Sc. forms corresp. to Eng. lope, which have now gen. displaced Leap, q.v. [Sc. lʌup; I.Sc., (sm.Sc. + ) lup; Rnf. + ‡lop]

I. v. A. Forms. Pa.t., pa.p. weak: lowped, -(i)t, louped, -(i)t, -et; lup(p)id, -it; lopit; pa.p. strong: lowpen, loupen, by conflation with luppen, s.v. Leap.

B. Usages: 1. intr. To leap, spring, jump, bounce, in gen.; tr. to leap over, vault, cross at a bound: (1) specif. of persons and animals and of inanimate objects. Gen.Sc. Also fig. Hence, from ppl.adj., loupan wa's, adv., in a bounding manner, by means of leaps or jumps, and phr. loupin an' leevin, of fish: fresh, newly-caught, not quite dead; of persons: hale and hearty, strong and well, in good health and spirits (Lth., Cld. 1880 Jam.; Ags., Fif., Lth. 1961); also loupin' an' lively.Sc. 1718 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 77:
We down to E'ning Edge wi' Ease Shall loup, and see what's done.Ayr. 1792 Burns Duncan Gray ii.:
Duncan sigh'd baith out and in, . . . Spak o' lowpin o'er a linn.Sc. 1806 R. Jamieson Ballads II. 141:
O Baby, haste the window loup, I'll kep you in my arm.Sc. 1819 Scott B. of Lamm. xviii.:
It is the picture of old Malise of Ravenswood, and he is as like it as if he had loupen out of the canvas.Ayr. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie xxxviii.:
Loup your ways doun, and let me into the chaise.Kcb. 1825 W. Nicholson Poems (1897) 79:
I'll loup the linn when ye canna wade.Abd. 1844 W. Thom Poems 37:
To keek at cadgers loupin' styles.Edb. 1866 J. Smith Poems 305:
Haddies — haddies — caller haddies! Fresh an' loupin in the creel.s.Sc. 1873 D.S.C.S. 226:
The cheild cam lowpan' wa's doon the luone.Edb. 1876 J. Smith Archie and Bess 68:
The black villain's aye loupin' an' lively somewhere.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 34:
Brockie lupid in . . . an rave him tae the shore.Sc. 1887 Stevenson Merry Men ii.:
Nae doobt the creature would hae lowped upo' the likes o' him.Knr. 1891 H. Haliburton Ochil Idylls 14:
Tho' deil a mony troots we gruppit, Baith owre and in the linns we luppit.Abd. 1909 J. Tennant Jeannie Jaffray 86:
Fresh fish, live an' loupin'.m.Sc. 1917 J. Buchan Poems 63:
While the bleeze loups high frae the aiken ruit.ne.Sc. 1929 M. W. Simpson Day's End 37:
Winter steekit the yetts, but she's lowpit the wa's.Sh. 1930 Sh. Almanac 196:
“Doon wi' dee dis moment!” she skirled, fil da mare l[o]opit aff o' 'er feet.Kcd. 1932 Lewis Grassic Gibbon Sunset Song (1995) 198:
The minister louped on his bicycle without a word, and off he rode. wm.Sc. 1954 Robin Jenkins The Thistle and the Grail (1994) 221:
"What would happen to your feet if your mither skailed boiling water over them?"
"Are they badly burned?"
"He louped high enough." wm.Sc. 1980 Anna Blair The Rowan on the Ridge 205:
He louped the low railway wall and heard the distant rumble of an approaching train as he made for the track. wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 8:
Orgon bows doon to him in everything
Lowps lik' a puppet when Tartuffe pu's the string. ne.Sc. 1991 Lilianne Grant Rich in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 23:
Syne, gin its creep micht catch their swippert feet,
They loup and rin. m.Sc. 1991 William Neill in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 48:
The Dirkanglavies lowpit oot,
wi dirk an sgian du,
an hackit him frae craig tae fuit
an stickit him richt thro. Sh. 1994 Christine De Luca Voes & Sounds (1995) 8:
Banks raised, we'd loup clean owre
- Peerie legs aye langer, jumpin farder - Sc. 1995 Duncan McLean Bunker Man 79:
She put her foot down and the car louped forward across the main road and onto the single-track beyond. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 49:
Fin Henry socht Norman roon the neist Setterday fur a suppie maet, he lowpit at the inveet. em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 182:
They had tried to hush him but the flow would not be stopped. Then Jean, that was already wandered, had lowped in and what she had had to say seemed to confirm that some at least of it was true.

Deriv. lowper, louper, a leaper or jumper; transf., a vagabond (Sc. 1825 Jam.), a flea, a jumping insect; = (f ). Combs. (a) coonter-lowper, see Coonter-louper, n. comb.; (b) fence-louper, a jumper of fences, a trespasser; (c) ferry-louper, see Ferry-louper, n. comb.; (d) land-lowper, see Land, I. 1. (20); (e) lowper dog, the porpoise, Phocaena phocaena (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 108; ne.Sc. 1903 G. Sim Fauna of “Dee” 58; n.Sc., Ags. 1961), acc. to others, the dolphin, Delphinus delphis; (f ) sand lowper, the sand flea (Fif. 1710 R. Sibbald Hist. Fife (1803) 132; Ags. 1961). See Sand.Sc. 1768 J. Robertson MS. Tour (S.A.S.) II. 18:
There came into the loch [Fyne], a kind of fish not usually seen here . . . named Loupers by the Inhabitants . . . They will be from six to eight feet long, nearly of the shape of Salmon, black on the back, white on the belly, having two pectoral fins, one dorsal, and a horizontal tail.s.Sc. 1898 E. Hamilton Mawkin i.:
Oh! I ken fine you're a great lub of a fellow for your years, and a middling good runner and louper.Slg. 1929 W. D. Cocker Dandie 51:
The bothy is waur than a sty: The caff bed wi' loupers is rife.(b) Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel xxx.:
So I got charge to take the young fence-louper to the Tower here.(e) ne.Sc. 1881 W. Gregor Folk-Lore 127:
The porpoise, or “louper dog,” tumbling with forward motion in the sea, is supposed to indicate the coming of a breeze. The animal always goes against the wind.Abd. 1932 J. Leatham Fisherfolk 40:
The Louper Dog is the nearest approach to the sea serpent I have so far seen.

(2) Of water: to cascade, to roll, plash. Gen.Sc.Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 123:
Do ye like the burn lassie Loups amang linns?m.Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick 84:
No' like oor burns here, that come loupin an' bickerin doun frae the hills.Ags. 1921 V. Jacob Bonnie Joann 3:
Oh, it's fine alang the tideway The loupin' waters rin.

(3) To spring to one's feet, to jump up and run off, to decamp, to “hop it”; to spring to attention, to “jump to it” (Sh., ne.Sc., Ags., Fif., Lth., Kcb., Slk. 1961).Peb. 1715 A. Pennecuik Works (1815) 403:
Since it [tobacco] came here It has gard sindry lairdships loup.Abd. 1746 W. Forbes Dominie Depos'd (1765) 31:
This made my lad at last to loup. And take his heels.Sc. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxvi.:
But it's just the laird's command, and the loon maun loup.

(4) (i) To start, jump with pain, surprise or shock. Gen.Sc.; (ii) As ppl.adj. lowpin. Also lowpin mad, in a towering rage (Bnff.,  Ags., Edb., Abd. 1990s, Ayr. 2000s).Ayr. 1789 Burns To the Toothache iii.:
As round the fire the giglets keckle To see me loup.Abd. 1928 J. Baxter A' Ae 'Oo' 1:
But like a thief She loups tae hark their faither say, “Ye needna chap; she's oot the day!”

(5) in a sexual sense, with on: to copulate with. Cf. Eng. leap, id.Lnk. a.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 19:
Ilk ane loups on of anither, and you'll get the wyte o' a bytarts round about.

(6) As ppl.adj. lowpin, loupin, (i) infested lit. and fig. (Bnff., Ags., Fif., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Rxb. 2000s); (ii) fig. stinking (Bnff., Ags., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Rxb. 2000s); (iii) also lowping, fig. revolting, very bad (Gsw., Ayr., Rxb. 2000s). (i) Gsw. 1985 Michael Munro The Patter 43:
loupin ... Also infested or crawling: 'That wean's mockit - Ah bet she's loupin an aw.' 'The West End's loupin wi artists.'wm.Sc. 1985 William McIlvanney The Big Man (1987) 77:
'... The place is lowpin wi' mad dugs. It's a sign of the times. They're all that feart from one another.'Edb. 1992:
That bairn's heid's lowpin!Sc. 1995 Scotland on Sunday (4 Jun) 16:
The place is loupin' with kamikaze deer. ... For some reason they seem attracted to grazing on tarmac and are almost entirely tame.Sc. 1995 Scotsman (6 Jul) 14:
So I go out one morning to find the stems and emerging flower heads absolutely seething with green-fly. The lupins, indeed, were fair loupin'.Ayr. 1999:
Thae claes are lowpin. (full of lice, fleas)(ii) Arg. 1993:
Fuckin lowpin. [of decomposing fish]Sc. 1995 Daily Record (4 Aug) 21:
It's minging in Menzieshill, whiffy in Whitfield, loupin' in Lochee and grotty in Broughty Ferry.(iii) Edb. 1993 Irvine Welsh Trainspotting (1994) 118:
The lager's loupin. Seems tae huv gone dead flat, ken. Tastes like fuckin pish.em.Sc. 1997 Ian Rankin Black & Blue (1999) 88:
'Hello, Uncle Joe. How's business?'
'Loupin'. Who's listenin in?'

2. To dance, lit. and fig., skip, hop about. Gen.Sc. Ppl.adj. lowpin, lively, restless, flighty, frivolous; comb. lowpin-daft, madly keen about dancing.Sc. 1769 D. Herd Sc. Songs 136:
The lasses loup as they were daft, When I blaw up my Chanter.Ayr. 1793 Burns Tam o' Shanter 160–1:
Rigwoodie hags, wad spean a foal, Loupin and flingin on a crummock.Sc. 1842 D. Vedder Poems (1854) 81:
He loupit and danced like a cowt on the heather.Mry. 1873 J. Brown Round Table Club 253:
Nane o' yer loupin' an' dancin', an gigglin', an chatterin', senseless gweed-for-naethings.Gsw. 1877 A. G. Murdoch Laird's Lykewake 19:
I e'ed a bonnie licht, Loup, loupin' through the darksome nicht.Dmf. 1912 A. Anderson Later Poems 14:
Tam skelpin' aboot wi' his buits flung aff An' loupin' wi' a' his micht.Abd. 1922 G. P. Dunbar Whiff o' Doric 28:
An' loupin quines fae Lunnon Toon, Bewitched wi' lowin' een ilk loon.Lnk. 1929 Hamilton Advert. (7 Dec.):
Aye breezy, aye breezy, is Jenny, Her e'en fairly loupin' wi' glee.Cai. 1992 James Miller A Fine White Stoor 96:
Rob was smiling. 'No muckle has changed in the music field,' he said. 'still the old boxie and the fiddle. Kate Dalrymple is still lowping.' Edb. 1994 Douglas McKenzie in James Roberston A Tongue in Yer Heid 9:
She spread a clean newspaper on the table an pit oot the knifes and forks, dancin between the livin-room an the kitchen, gien a wee jouk o her legs as she passed the kitchen door. Back wi the plates an anither wee shak o the fuit an a wee hooch as she louped back intae the kitchen again.

3. To walk with a long, springing step, to bound, to lope, as a hare (Sh., n.Sc., Ags., m.Lth., Gall., Slk. 1961). Also ppl. adj. louping.Abd. p.1768 A. Ross Works (S.T.S.) 184:
Just as they're thrang, wha louping comes but Peg?Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 178:
And herd lowns louping o'er the grass.Sc. 1826 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 120:
Loupin intil No. 17 Princes Street, and never stoppin till he rowled awa through baith chops.Fif. 1894 A. S. Robertson Provost 23:
A rabbit gaed loup-loupin' awa to its hole.Abd. 1900 C. Murray Hamewith 7:
The bawd cam' loupin' through the corn To “Clean Pease Strae”.Sh. 1932 J. M. E. Saxby Trad. Lore 116:
The Trows were said to “loop” instead of walk.Kcd. 1932 Lewis Grassic Gibbon Sunset Song (1995) 48:
She ... turned and ran, he went louping after her along the road, like a great monkey he leapt, crying terrible things to her.Mry. 1936 I. Cameron Street of Spinners vi.:
A tall man who walked with a long, louping step. m.Sc. 1986 Colin Mackay The Song of the Forest 13:
And the louping wolves come out of the forest. wm.Sc. 2001 Robin Jenkins Childish Things 52:
She came louping in, as naked as an ocelot.

4. Of the heart, blood, etc.: to throb, pound, beat quickly with emotion; as of an abscess, sore feet etc., to throb with pain, be very painful (Bnff., Ags., Fif., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf., Rxb. 2000s). Gen.Sc. Phr. to gang lowp, id.Fif. 1701 County Folk-Lore VII. 101:
Sitting down she said God have an care of me for my heart is louping.Sc. 1730 T. Boston Memoirs (1852) 207:
While he was drawing his last breaths, he so smiled that the sight of it made my heart to loup.Dmf. 1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun 25:
Wow! but it maks ane's heart lowp light To see auld fowk sae cleanly dight.Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin iii.:
It set his heart a-loupin', an' his knee a-knockin'.Edb. 1866 J. Smith Poems 23:
My very heart gangs lowp, lowp.Gsw. 1877 A. G. Murdoch Laird's Lykewake 17:
Sae, jist to gie their hearts a lift, An' haud their loupin' nerves in tift.Dmf. 1913 A. Anderson Later Poems 75:
My heart loups up wi fricht.Rxb. 1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes 9:
Wui breezes threh the Border hills . . . ti gar the reed bluid lowp.Gsw. 1976:
My feet are lowpin. My finger's lowpin. Gsw. 1985 Michael Munro The Patter 43:
loupin Very sore: 'Ma big toe's loupin'. Gsw. 1986 Alex Cathcart The Comeback 180:
"Isn't your arm louping?" "Stoicism, sir. No pleasure, no pain. ..." Gsw. 1990 John and Willy Maley From the Calton to Catalonia 20:
Ma legs are loupin. How far dae ye think we've walked? Edb. 1991:
My heid's lowpin. Gsw. 1991 Guardian 5 Jan :
Don't ask. Heid lowping. Gsw. 1992 Jeff Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! (1993) 217:
Warily I mounted the stairs. I was chittering and my arm was louping some, especially when a coughing spasm seized on the old bronchial tract, the bone-deep pain would shoot agonies into my crippled wing. Sc. 1995 Duncan McLean Bunker Man 253:
Onions put zing in your blood ... I'm always eating them: onion rings, skirlie ... And look at my blood! It's louping in my veins! Sc. 1999 Daily Record (19 Feb) 28:
Example: "I got blootered (see earlier) and now ma heid's lowpin." Sc. 1999 Herald (28 Aug) 9:
"I was stung on the ring finger ... While I don't want to make excuses, if your game is based on feel it's difficult to get things going when your hand is louping throughout. ..." Sc. 2005 Sunday Mail (23 Jan) 25:
The feet are loupin', by the way, so now I'm off to bed for two days.

5. tr. and intr.: to start out of a receptacle, covering, etc., to break or pop out (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sh., Abd., Ags., Kcb. 1961); of a bud or flower: to burst, open out; of the face or skin: to erupt, to become flushed and puffy with a rash, heat, excitement, drink or the like (Sc. 1825 Jam.). Vbl.n. lowpin. Freq. in phrs. at the loupan, like to lowp, at bursting point, ready to pop.Peb. 1715 A. Pennecuik Works (1815) 387:
The roast will burn, the eggs will loup.Dmf. 1810 R. Cromek Remains 136:
Her heart's like to loup the gowd lace o' her gown.Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel xxxv.:
Was he not . . . ready to loup out of his skin-case for very joy?Sc. 1826 M. Dods Manual I. 27:
A swalled judgment-like Jeshuran wi' eyne like to loup with clean fat.Per. 1831 Perthshire Advert. (14 April):
Panel attempted to choak witness, by twisting his neck-cloth until his eyes were like to loup out.Dmf. 1847 R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes 220:
Wullie's heart was like to loup the hool.Rxb. 1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 310:
The bonnie wee gowan again decks the lea, . . . The lucken is loupin', the bloom's on the haw.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 109:
He sat afore the fire till's face wiz like t' loup. He's growin' sae stout it's claes is just at the loupan. He fillt the saik till't wiz at the loupan.Abd. 1922 G. P. Dunbar Whiff o' Doric 28:
They brunt their nits that loup an' dird.Rxb. 1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes 21:
A reed, lowpin broazy face . . . sweet-begrutten an bairkent wui dirrt.

6. Of frost: to thaw, break, disappear (Ags. 1825 Jam.; n.Sc. 1961).Abd. 1929 J. Alexander Mains and Hilly 25:
Gin't be frosty i' the mornin' it loups afore denner time.Bnff.¹² 1945:
When the thaw comes, the frost loups.

7. tr. to make to leap, to propel forward in a bound.Sc. 1954 Bulletin (28 May) 16:
His long drive finished against the face of a pot bunker and the best he could do was to loup the ball a few yards out.

8. Special Combs.: (1) with preps. and advs.: (i) to lowp aff, (a) to set off at a run (Sh. 1961); (b) to dismount from a horse (Sh., ne.Sc., Ags., Wgt. 1961); (c) to jump hastily from one topic of conversation to another, to change the subject abruptly (ne.Sc. 1961); (ii) to lowp back, to withdraw, resile from a promise or purpose, to back out (Cld. 1825 Jam.); (iii) to lowp doun (a) = (i) (b); (b) to lower one's offer suddenly in bargaining (Cld. 1825 Jam.); (iv) to lowp on, to mount a horse, leap into the saddle. Gen.Sc.; (v) to lowp ower, to go beyond, exceed, transgress; (vi) to lowp up, to leap to one's feet; to raise one's price suddenly in making a bargain (Cld. 1825 Jam.; ne. and wm.Sc., Wgt. 1961). Cf. (iii) (b); (vii) to lowp up at, to flare up angrily at, to chide sharply (Sh., Abd., Ags., Ayr. 1961); (2) with ppl.adj. or vbl.n.: (i) loupin ague, a kind of chorea or St Vitus's dance; (ii) louping gout, id.; (iii) loupin(g)-ill, a disease of sheep characterised by the animal freq. leaping into the air as it moves forward (Sc. 1825 Jam., 1924 Trans. Highl. Soc. XXXVI. 1). Gen.Sc.; (iv) loupin-on-stane, a block or platform of stone by which a horse may be more easily mounted, esp. by ladies, found most commonly outside public buildings, churches, inns, etc., a horse-block. Also fig., and in form lowping-stone (Bwk. 1942 Wettstein). Gen.Sc. Hist. Phr. to cum aff at the loupin-on-stane, to leave off where one started, to make no progress in a bargain, dispute or the like (Sc. 1808 Jam.); (v) loupen steek, a dropped or broken stitch in knitting, a ladder in a stocking; fig. a mistake, a lapse, in phr. to tak up a loupen steek, to undo or retrieve a mistake; (vi) loupin stick, a stick or pole used by shepherds and hillmen to vault over streams and boggy places, a Kent.(1) (i) (b) Cld. 1880 Jam.:
Afore the beast stoppit he loupit aff, an' held oot a letter to me.Abd. 1890 Mod. Sc. Poets (Edwards) XIII. 91:
An' bann'd the robbers ane an a' An loupit aff his beast.(c) Cld. 1880 Jam.:
He ne'er finishes his story, but loups aff to some other palaver.(ii) Sc. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Shep. iv. i.:
Own your Faut to her that ye wad cheat, . . . Vow, and lowp back! — Was e'er the like heard tell?Sc. 1823 Scott St Ronan's W. ii.:
The lad would fain have louped back [from a promise of marriage].(iii) (a) Bwk. 1880 Minstrelsy Merse (Crockett 1893) 271:
He's loupit doun frae his charger then.(iv) Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 17:
As good holds the Stirrup, as he that loups on. That is, the Servant may be as good a Man as the Master sometimes.Lnk. a.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 32:
Haud the auld jade till I loup on.Abd. 1884 Trans. Bnff. Field Club 26:
Gehn ye loup on't It'll carry you to France.Dmf. 1912 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo 6:
I've seen the day when I could loup on a horse, and cairry my heid and swagger.(v) Edb. 1791 J. Learmont Poems 60:
They loup owr Heaven's holy laws.Edb. 1798 in D. Crawford Poems 86:
But you hae loupt o'er ilka bar, That's meant to guide the poet's wings.Sh. 1930 Sh. Almanac 185:
He'd loopit ower da allotit span, Wis fower score years an' twa.(vi) Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 166:
Till up loups he, wi' diction fu'.(vii) Sh. 1922 J. Inkster Mansie's Röd 56:
Doo shürely haes little ta tink apon whin doo can loop up at a body for sain' a right wird.(2) (i) Ags. 1795 Stat. Acc.¹ XIX. 373:
Twenty or thirty years ago, what is commonly called the louping ague greatly prevailed. This disease, in its symptoms, has a considerable resemblance to St Vitus's dance. Those affected with it, when in a paroxysm, often leap or spring in a very surprising manner, whence the disease has derived its vulgar name.Ags. 1833 J. S. Sands Poems 95:
To see him i' the loupin' ague, Loupin' like Spottie ow're fouks' houses.(ii) Ags. 1795 Stat. Acc.¹ V. 146:
This distemper, called in the account of a neighbouring parish, the louping Gout.(iii) Rxb. Ib. XVI. 65:
The disorders most prevalent are, the sturdy, the sickness, the louping ill, the rot, and the braxy.Sc. 1816 Scott Black Dwarf x.:
The louping-ill's been sairer amang his sheep than ony season before.ne.Sc. 1826 Aberdeen Censor 208:
To prescribe for a horse in the staggers, or a cow in the stiffness, or a sheep with the loupin-ill.Rxb. 1914 Kelso Chron. (11 Dec.) 4:
A shepherd should never attempt to set a lamb on to a ewe if she has even the faintest symptoms of any louping-ill about her.Gall. 1956 Galloway Gazette (22 Sept.) 8:
Braxy, Louping Ill and Pulpy Kidney Vaccines available.(iv) Slg. 1700 Slg. Burgh Rec. (1889) 347:
For building and helping the louping on stone at the port . . . £1. 4. 0.Gall. 1721 Session Bk. Minnigaff (1939) 388:
He heard Alexander Roxburgh bid Agnes Young mind the lowping on stone and burroch but knows no more in the affair.s.Sc. c.1750 T. Somerville Life (1861) 339:
The loupin'-on-stane, a small erection of wood or masonry, for the accommodation of ladies in mounting or dismounting their horses.Sc. 1814 Scott Waverley xxix.:
“A louping-on-stane,” or structure of masonry erected for the traveller's convenience in the front of the house.Ayr. 1826 Galt Last of Lairds v.:
What should he be doing, but sitting on his ain louping-on stane, glowring frae him?Abd. 1868 G. Macdonald R. Falconer ii. xix.:
I dang oot its guts upo' the loupin'-on-stane at the door o' the chop.Lnk. 1910 C. Fraser Glengonnar 167:
It was a Loupin-on-stane — nae sma' wecht, let me tell ye — and horses used to be tied to an iron ring in its side.Dmf. 1915 J. L. Waugh Betty Grier 69:
I've nae brew o' dreams, although I confess that there's much in Scripture hinges on them. They were the makin' o' Joseph, a loupin'-on-stane to Daniel.Lnk. 1959 Scotsman (22 Sept.) 4:
Mr Harold Macmillan is to speak in support of Mr Maitland at East Kilbride, addressing the voters from the “loupin'-on stane” in the town's 300-year-old Montgomerie Square.Sc. 1999 Edinburgh Evening News (26 Mar) 33:
This is the loupin'-on stane, which goes back to the days when local farmers and landowners took their wives with them to church, riding on the same horse. The loupin'-on stane, with its few steps up, enabled riders to mount and dismount at their ease. Sc. 1999 Herald (23 Jul) 29:
Nearby is the almost equally ancient Coaching Inn, outside which the Loupin' On Stane, used by riders to dismount and remount their horses, can be seen. Sc. 2001 Sunday Mail (17 Jun) 25:
The Monty is 500 years old. It was a coach house and it still has a set of stairs - called the loupin' oan stone - to help you on to your horse.(v) Ayr. 1822 Galt Entail lxxiii.:
I hae nothing to say, but to help to tak up the loupen-steek in your stocking wi' as much brevity as is consistent wi' perspicuity.(vi) Kcb. 1911 Crockett Rose of the Wilderness ix.:
It wasn't his hands, it was his loupin' stick — ten feet o' solid oak and as thick as my wrist!

9. Phrs.: (1) (loup-)cuddy-loup, = (6) (Lth., wm.Sc., Slk. 1961). See also Cuddy, n.¹; (2) loup-in-the-kettle, broth made with flesh-stock (see quot.); (3) loup-the-bullocks, leap-frog; (4) loup-the-cat, a shiftless, erratic person; (5) loup-(the-)coonter, a contemptuous term for a male shop-assistant (n.Sc., Ags., Fif., Lth., Wgt. 1961). Also attrib. See also Coonter-louper; (6) loup-the-cuddy, leap-frog (ne.Sc., Ags., Fif., Lth., wm.Sc., Gall., Rxb. 1961). Cf. (1); (7) loup-the-dyke, a wild, undisciplined, wayward, or shifty person (Ags., Fif. 1961). Also attrib.; (8) loup-the-ligget, id. See Liggat; (9) loup the tether, id. (Rnf. 1837 Crawfurd MSS.); (10) to loup a gutter, to avoid or surmount a difficulty or loss (ne.Sc. 1961); (11) to loup a or the stank, id. (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 108; Kcd. 1961); (12) to loup at the ladle, to be greedy for food, to forage for oneself; (13) to loup dykes, to weather troubles successfully, to tackle difficulties boldly and effectively (Fif., Ayr., Kcb., Dmf. 1961). Cf. (10); (14) to loup the country, to flee the country, to emigrate (Abd., Kcd. 1961); (15) to loup the dyke frae, to pass from, to leave behind; (16) to loup the land, = (14); (17) to loup the window, to leave a house surreptitiously, to elope. Hence adj. phr. loup-the-window, clandestine, eloping. Only in Galt.(1) Slk. 1893 R. Hall Schools 18:
What games we used to have at “hunt the tod,” . . . “fit an' a half,” “cuddy loups.”(2) Sc. 1845 Edb. Tales (Johnstone) I. 172:
The Collier bodies killed a bit lamb . . . and made a “loup in the kettle” wi' it.(3) Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 320:
Loup-the-bullocks. — Young men go out to a green meadow, and there, on “all fours,” plant themselves in a row about two yards distant from each other. Then he who is stationed farthest back in the “bullock rank” starts up, and leaps over the other bullocks before him.(4) Abd. 1882 W. Alexander My Ain Folk 122:
They'll run their risk o' dealin' wi' ony wierdless loup-the-cat, for the sake o' a skinnin' mair.(5) Abd. 1868 G. Macdonald R. Falconer i. v.:
Coorse vulgar stuff, 'at naebody wad weir but loup-coonter lads.(6) Abd. 1957 People's Jnl. (6 April):
Ah can see sax muckle hares as daft as daft, playin' loup the cuddy amon' the furrs o' Geordie's ley park.(7) Ayr. 1822 Galt Entail lxv.:
When she jealouses that your affections are set on a loup-the-dyke Jenny Cameron like Nell Frizel.Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet xxiii.:
Now I have my finger and my thumb on this loup-the-dike loon, the lad Fairford.Per. 1878 R. Ford Hamespun Lays 66:
Thae loup-the-dyke chields are a riddle, Nae less are the sleekit an slee.(8) Kcb. 1901 R. Trotter Gall. Gossip 80:
Whutever you loup-the-ligget loons is gaun 'a do, A'm no gaun 'a desert him.(9) Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet xx.:
Think of his . . . capering off into Cumberland here after a wild loup-the-tether lad they ca' Darsie Latimer.(10) Abd. a.1881 W. Geddes Mem. J. Geddes (1899) 13:
Eh, man, wasna my mither lucky, an' didna she loup a gutter, 'at de'et afore the year eighty-twa [a year of dearth]?Sc. 1935 I. Bennet Fishermen xiii.:
Jake louped a gutter the day ye said “no” to him.(11) Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb v.:
He'll no loup the stank so easy wi' Maister Saun'ers.Abd. 1880 G. Webster Crim. Officer 44:
I thocht I hed loup'n a stank fan I got a haud o' my prisoners an' their booty.(12) Slk. 1822 Hogg Tales (1874) 611:
They'll soon be blythe to leave the lass an' loup at the ladle.(13) Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 119:
She'll shape to onie cast your honor likes, O'er wedded fouks are ready to loup dikes.Rxb. 1826 A. Scott Poems 110:
I hope, at Whitelaw here, To live, perhaps, an' loup some dykes, An' hail the coming year.m.Sc. 1928 O. Douglas Ann and Her Mother xxii.:
The doctors simply gasped at you . . . and Father used to laugh and say, “You'll live and loup dykes yet.”(14) Abd. 1826 D. Anderson Poems 69:
To loup the country an' exile Themsel's o'er seas.Abd. 1884 D. Grant Keckleton 132:
The puir lad had made his case appear ten times waur than it really wis wi' loupin' the countra an sailing for Australia.(15) Kcb. 1890 A. J. Armstrong Ingleside 217:
Some were joost loupin' the dyke frae their teens.(16) Abd. p.1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shep. MS. 75:
Nought for me now remains but loup the land.(17) Ayr. 1823 Galt Entail lxiv., lxxvii.:
My lass, I'll let no grass grow beneath my feet, till I hae gi'en your father notice of this loup-the-window, and hey cockalorum-like love. . . . If Beenie, after a' this straemash, was to loup the window under cloud o' night with some gaberlunzie o' a crookit and blin' soldier-officer.

II. n. 1. A leap, jump, spring; the measure of a leap; a throb, start. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1790 Sc. Mus. Museum III. 222:
Syne forth they got a' wi' a loup, O'er creels and deals and a' did coup.Fif. 1806 A. Douglas Poems 45:
Nae cause is there to tine a' hope. Or tak' the foolish lover's loup In dowy burn or den.wm.Sc. 1820 Songs & Ball. Cld. (Nimmo 1882) 197:
He gied sic a terrible loup That his head came a thump on the ceiling.Sc. 1823 Lockhart Reg. Dalton iv. iv.:
I keepit a good loup of twa stories of stone and lime between me and them.Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 42:
At a race or a loup There can nane wi' him cope.Wgt. 1880 G. Fraser Lowland Lore 163:
Defied me to attempt a loup That nocht ensur'd except a coup.Ags. 1896 Barrie Sentimental Tommy xxvii.:
He calls her Ailie, and wi' the gentry it's but one loup frae that to speiring.Dmf. 1915 D. J. Beattie Oor Gate-en' 3:
Disna his hert just gie a loup as a peculiar thrill rins thro' his bluid.Abd. 1918 W. Mutch Hev ye a Spunk 5:
Ay, the billie in the shoppie Gaed a loup as he'd been shot.wm.Sc. 1954 Robin Jenkins The Thistle and the Grail (1994) 24:
"... Go and take a loup from the Sodger's Brig. That's what I call being bold and experimental." m.Sc. 1998 Lillias Forbes Turning a Fresh Eye 7:
A thae gowden lyrics liggin aside ye, Chris
Yirdit there i the moul wi yer best-loo'ed thochts
An doucely tae yer sicht - bricht een o berries,
The lichtsome loup o grailse, bairn's croon o curlin hair
Flaught'rin afore the win', jinkin its ilka jawp. Fif. 1994 William Hershaw in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 47:
"So then, Wullie," he whispert, leanin ower ti him fae the chair, "whit aboot it then, eh? Juist wan, sma, wee favour for me...juist wan, sma, wee loup oot the windae and Ah'll be in yer debt forivir...." Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 13:
An haein owercam the bumbazement caused by infinite space, he didna dauchle. Wi ae lowp, he brukk ben this hedge anna, an fand hissel in a gairden rale like the ain he'd cam frae. m.Sc. 2000 Herald (14 Aug) 32:
Perhaps if Andy Howitt can convince Tartan Army members that his dance would be an enjoyable experience for them he might have a sell-out on his hands, with kilted, flag-adorned, beer-swilling audience members burping their way through a performance with suitable comments like: "Here Boab, did ye see the wy the boy birled roon' there and sold us aw a dummy? Whit a loup that wiz, eh?" "Ay Jimmy, and whit a lovely pirouette an' aw. Just like wee Erchie in Argentina. Well done big man."

Phrs. and Combs.: (1) hap-stap-and-lowp, hop, step and jump. See Hap, v.², III. 2.; †(2) loup and sten, (with) a leap and a bound, (at) a striding or loping pace. See Stend; (3) loupy for spang, id., at a gallop (ne.Sc. 1961); ‡(4) loup-hunt, n. and v., gen. in phr. to be a-loup-hunting (n.Sc. 1825 Jam.), — on the loup-hunt, to be off on one's own private (freq. amorous) adventures, to gad about (ne.Sc. 1932). The metaphor is prob. taken from animals in the breeding season, from O.Sc. loup, to copulate, the act of generation; (5) loup-year, leap-year (Ags. 1961); (6) standing-loup, a standing jump; fig. a bold, venturesome step.(1) Kcb. 1897 T. Murray Poems 34:
To cheer him in hap-step-and-loup.(2) Kcb. 1815 J. Gerrond Poems 103:
Whiles up, whiles down, whiles loup and sten' Across the floor.Ayr. 1892 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 175:
True to his tryst, wi' loup an sten, Young Jock came whistling up the glen.(3) Abd. 1881 W. Paul Past & Present 158:
An' they ran awa' loupy for spang.Abd. 1950:
That beast's gyaan loupy for spang.(4) Ags. 1896 A. Blair Rantin Robin 39:
It's some o' yer ain loup hunts ye're after.Abd.¹³ 1914:
She's aye o' the loup-hunt somewye.(5) Knr. 1886 H. Haliburton Horace 84:
There's scandal for a lang loup-year.(6) Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 112:
[She] has run the risk of a' her friends down-look, Whan for your sake this standing loup she took.

2. Fig. A bold step, a venture; a long journey.Sc. 1712 W. Mitchell Tincklars Speech to The Laird of Carnwath 11:
We tempt him when we Venture upon Extraordinary Loups.Abd. 1809 J. Skinner Amusements 93:
And fowk may think ye some wee frantic In sic a lowp.

3. A place where one may leap, or traditionally has leapt, from one point to another, e.g. a narrow channel between rocks or steep banks, freq. in place-names as Tinker's Lowp, Wallace's Lowp; a shelf in a river bed over which the water cascades or by which fish may ascend by leaping. Gen.Sc. For salmon-loup see Salmon.Ags. 1795 Stat. Acc.¹ XXI. 418:
It [a river] tumbles over four rocky precipices from fifteen to thirty feet high, called the Loups of Kenny.Lnk. 1825 Jam.:
There is a loup in Clyde about half a mile above the Stonebyres Linn.Abd. 1836 J. Grant Ballads 259:
An' list the burnie murmurin' on In mony a loup and wild meander.Bwk. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes 22:
The water pours through a narrow crevice in the rock above, which is called “The Strait-loup.”Ayr. c.1892 R. Lawson Ballads Carrick 6:
He rode past it, about two miles, to a rugged precipice called Games Loup, standing close by the sea.Ayr. 1930 A. M. Stewart Stickleback Club 244:
A narrow granolithic track . . . at times is the only possible way along the face of the cliffs, where it is carried by a series of “loups” or arches built against the cliff face, where you are guarded by a hand-rail [on Ailsa Craig].

4. In Mining: a slip or fault in the rock (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms 43).Fif. 1760 Session Papers, Henderson v. Paterson (1 Aug.) 9:
They were often interrupted by Loups or small Hitches.