Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

†MING, v.¹, n.¹ Also myng; meing; meng; and corrupt form mem. Reduplic. form ming-mang.

I. v. 1. To mix, mingle, blend; to muddle, mix up, confuse (Per. 1909 Scotsman (10 May), ming-mang). See also Mang, n.¹s.Sc. 1857 H. S. Riddell St. Matthew xxvii. 34:
They gae him vinigar til drink, mynget wi ga'.Ags. 1914 I. Bell Country Clash 192:
Tho' I made a merter o' my ain match that's no to say I need ming-mang amon' ithers.

2. Specif.: to mix tar for sheep smearing, blending it with other suitable ingredients to get the right consistency (Rxb. 1825 Jam.). Hence vbl.n. meingin(g), the ingredients mixed with tar for sheep-smearing, also fig. Ppl.adj. in comb. mem'd tar, tar and salt mixed (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).Slk. 1818 Hogg B. of Bodsbeck xii.:
Smear us ower the hale bouk wi' the tar o' adversity, weel mixed up wi' the meinging of repentance.s.Sc. 1829 Quarterly Jnl. Agric. II. 703, 705:
Just to smear their sheep wi' tar an' butter, an' meing a wee better. . . . Terr, an' plenty o' ony other meingin.

3. Of ripening grain: to become mixed in colouring.Rxb. 1825 Jam.:
“The corn's beginnin to meng,” the standing corn begins to change its colour, or to assume a yellow tinge.

II. n. 1. The ingredients compounded with or substituted for tar in sheep-smearing.Per. 1823 Caled. Mercury (4 Dec.):
Various sorts of mixtures, in none of which tar is an ingredient. . . . These mings do not clot the fleece as tar does.s.Sc. 1824 Farmer's Mag. (Nov.) 435:
The difference in weight of the wool smeared with tar, and that with the mings recently tried in various parts of the South of Scotland, is not great.

2. Human excrement (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).