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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.

NOTE, v., n.² Also not(t), noat; in sense 2. also nonce spellings nought (Abd. 1927 G. R. Harvey The Shepherds 7), nocht (Mry. 1926 J. Lendrum Sc. Life 51; Abd. 1946 J. Murray Rural Rhymes 45), knot (Sc. 1929 Scots Mag. (March) 450). Sc. forms and usages of Eng. note, = I. 1., obs. from 15th c. [not]

I. v. 1. To make use of, to need, have occasion for (esp. food), followed by a noun or inf. of a verb.n.Sc. 1710 T. Ruddiman Gl. to Douglas Aeneis s.v. nate:
He would note it, i.e. needs it, or has use for it.n.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
He notes very little, he takes little food.Abd. 1845 T. Denham Poems 132:
Ring louder man — are ye frichtet at it? . . . D—n they waiters — they notna bide sae lang; their sheen's nae sae heavy, I think.ne.Sc. 1865 J. Horne Poems 24:
Gin I could borrow “blunt,” and thrive Weel with it, sir, I notna strive Mair daily wi' this warld o' care.Abd. 2000 Sheena Blackhall The Singing Bird 40:
The brigg notts rebiggin;
The railwye station anna.

2. In ne.Sc. this form has come to be used as the past tense of need, with pa.p. nott(en), note, and freq. absorption of the aux. Hae, v.¹ (see s.v. A. 1.). Neg. form notna. For on no'te in 1791 quot. see On, pref.², 2.Abd. 1789 Aberdeen Mag. 504:
Whane'er he nott to take a nap, He came and lay down in my lap.ne.Sc. 1791 Caled. Mercury (29 Sept.):
[Whisky] gars fouk trow themsells fu' bra' On no'te ti borrow.Mry. 1804 R. Couper Poems I. 117:
They nott na idle, meanless, toil, To meet the ev'ning fare.Bnff. a.1829 J. Sellar Poems (1844) 22:
A bacchanalian fu' o' whisky Was coming up the road right frisky The road was braid, but sair he not it.Abd. 1870 W. Buchanan Olden Days 119:
Ye notna gang yon'er gin ye coodna sweem.Mry. 1873 J. Brown Round Table Club 378:
He wad note tae hae brocht a barn fleer wi him.Ags. 1896 T. L. Paton Inveresk v.:
“She's awfu' determined like.” “Ay, that she'd nott to be.”Bnff. 1922 Banffshire Jnl. (12 Dec.) 2:
Ye see they had langer 'oors an' nott mair diets.Abd. 1956 Ev. Express (14 Dec.):
A central toilet is sair nott on these cold days. — A Turriff waitress, on the current burning topic in her town.Abd. 1995 Flora Garry Collected Poems 33:
He nott nae byeuks to read
The meer's tail cloods, ... ne.Sc. 1996 Patricia Scott in Sandy Stronach New Wirds: An Anthology of winning poems and stories from the Doric Writing Competitions of 1994 and 1995 42:
The grocery list that wis made oot ivvery Thursday nicht aifter canny inspection o scullery press. Great care taen; only fit wis nott wis ordered. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 48:
Ye near nocht a PhD tae get on the tills at ASDA ...

II. n. 1. Necessity, occasion (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.).

2. Use, benefit (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), Sh. 1964). Only used with neg.Ib.:
Der'r nae not in it; hit is nae not.

Deriv. notless, useless, exhausted (Sh. 1964).Sh. 1959:
Mostly of threadbare fabrics or anything worn out. Also used of a person tired out by hard work or illness — Ah'm jüst notless.