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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.

OUT OWER, prep., adv., adj. comb. Also oot-, owr(e), -our(e), -o(v)er. See also Atour. [′ut′ʌuər]

I. prep. 1. Of motion: outwards and over, over the top of, over to the other side of, across (Sc. 1808 Jam.), out of (bed), i.e. over the bed-stock (Sc. 1899 Mont.-Fleming). Gen.Sc.Sc. 1718 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 79:
[She] lap out o'er a Stool.Dmf. 1760 Session Papers, Jardine v. Corbet Proof 20:
They would throw them out over the window or the stair-head.Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 137:
Whan he out o'er the halland flings his een.Ayr. 1786 Burns A Guid New Year i.:
Thou could hae gaen like onie staggie, Out-owre the lay.Sc. 1796 Scots Mag. (Jan.) 55:
Whan ye out oure your thraple whumble A whean o' them [herring].Sc. 1803 Battle of Philiphaugh in Child Ballads No. 202. i.:
The Scots outoer the Graemes they ran.Bwk. 1831 Border Mag. 9:
What sud I dae but fa' a' my lang length out owre a tub o' keppit washin-water.Rxb. 1871 H. S. Riddell Poet. Wks. I. 3:
Near was he borne out-owre the linn.Knr. 1891 H. Haliburton Ochil Idylls 53:
I'm wae to see your waefu' looks Oot-ower the fields o' draiglit stooks.Abd. 1905 C. Horne Forgue 40:
It is not right to put a lassie's name out ower the precentor's desk, and then heave her at his heels.Lnk. 1919 G. Rae Clyde and Tweed 40:
He's airtin' hard oot-ower the braes o' whin.Ayr. 1931 Scots Mag. (Sept.) 418:
She could . . . walk six miles out ower a pad to a dance.ne.Sc. 1958 Scottish Studies II. i. 49:
He jumps oot-ower his bed, an' he gaes doon.

2. Of position: (1) above, over, on top of, lit. and fig. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1722 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) III. 96:
The Eagle's . . . Richt divyne To sway out-owre the fetherit Thrang.Ayr. 1785 Burns Death and Dr. Hornbook vi.:
An awfu' scythe, out-owre ae shouther, . . . A three-tae'd leister on the ither, . . . Lay, large an' lang.Mry. 1804 R. Couper Poems I. 61:
Out-oure the cott, wi' changless rim, The reek sits braid and brown.Knr. 1886 H. Haliburton Horace 58:
The auld gean stump, Whas' frostit branches hang Oot-owre the dyke abune the pump.Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) iv.:
He's hardly ever been ootower the door sin' syne.Sh. 1900 Shetland News (10 Feb.):
Shü . . . dan tied a white njaepkin oot ower a'.ne.Sc. 1909 G. Greig Folk-Song II. 1:
Oh Nellie she's a bonnie lass, She's the flower ootowre them a'.Slk. 1986 Harvey Holton in Joy Hendry Chapman 43-4 168:
when, piercit bi some panic, the hoodie's heid ootower the lift
crazilly carried on a movean mare o wund Abd. 1995 Flora Garry Collected Poems 20:
Ae simmer day, I climt yon knowe eence mair
An lookit far ootower ma ain country, ...

(2) Bent over (a task, a drink, etc.).Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 222:
Nor Hynds wi' Elson and Hemp Lingle, Sit solling Shoon out o'er the Ingle.Dmf. 1797 Edb. Mag. (Dec.) 457:
Loutin' sair out our his aiken Kent.Fif. 1841 C. Gray Lays 7:
Blythe, blythe, and merry are we — Blythe out-owre the barley bree.Uls. 1844 R. Huddleston Poems 18:
As at her wheel she blythely sang Out ower some sonnet as she span.Ayr. 1858 M. Porteous Souter Johnny 11:
To crack a joke, wi' wit aye ready Out ower a gill.Abd. 1890 W. Cairnie Waifs 77:
The Laird, . . . Jist knacket's thooms oot-owre his wine.Abd. 1964:
The laddie sits ower close out ower his beuks at nichts.

(3) On the other side of, on either side of (Sh., ne.Sc., Kcb., Uls. 1964).Bnff. 1787 W. Taylor Poems 56:
I . . . coost my hough out-owre a beast.Abd. 1824 G. Smith Douglas 18:
So Lady Randolph hates my vera shape, Ere lang we'll court like cats outo'er a rape.Edb. 1856 J. Ballantine Poems 198:
He tells na how, outower the knowe, I laid him backflaught on the lea.Slg. 1931 Stirling Observer (2 June):
Auld Brig o' Forth, sae faur awa'. Oot owre the muckle sea.

3. Of time, number, etc.: over, more than, in excess of.Ags. 1819 R. Mudie Glenfergus I. xvii.:
She's frae the south, an' hasna been outour twa years i' this paris.Sc. 1839 Wilson's Tales of the Borders V. 96:
Ye'll be used to drappies o' tea, I warrant; but we haena had ootower twa brewins i' the hoose sin we were married.

4. Phrs.: (1) out-ower the door, over the doorstep, into the open air, esp. of one who has been confined to the house for some time. Gen.Sc. Cf. ower the door, id., s.v. Ower; (2) out-ower the head, — lugs, over the head or ears, as a gauge of the depth of immersion (ne.Sc. 1964); (3) to come out-owre one's lugs, to box one's ears (Ags. 1964).(1) Peb. 1715 A. Pennecuik Works (1815) 398:
If we had strength to hold him still He should not gang out owr our door.Rs. 1768 W. McGill Old Rs. (1909) 2:
Afraid to go out over the doors.Sc. 1816 Scott Antiquary xxvi.:
I havena had my fit out-ower the door this fortnight.Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 241:
Fur my pairt, I widna gaeng oot ower da door da dey.Ags. 1934 H. B. Cruickshank Noran Water 12:
But I maun stand ootowre the yett An' watch the bonny stars abune.(2) Ayr. 1786 Burns Halloween xxvi.:
[She] mist a fit, an' in the pool Out-owre the lugs she plumpet.e.Lth. a.1801 R. Gall Poems (1819) 29:
Or devilish Spunkie, watching, lead Us in some pool out-owre the head.(3) Bwk. 1823 A. Hewit Poems 148:
If ye've a numscull like mysel', Wha's dull to learn and canna spell, Come ye out-owre his lugs pell mell.

II. adv. 1. At a distance, aside, apart, some distance away (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sh., ne.Sc., Ags. 1964), also oot-our-by, id.; to a distance, away, off (Ib.).Bnff. 1787 W. Taylor Poems 86:
In hamely cot Out-owre frae din an' bustle.Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 204:
He gars McMaster keep outowre.Edb. 1844 J. Ballantine Miller iii.:
He leaves a' his flocks far outower on yon lea.Ags. 1846 P. Livingston Poems (1855) 82:
Cast your e'e Out ower amang the fellows.s.Sc. 1857 H. S. Riddell St. Matthew iv. 10:
Than saith Jesus untill him, Get thee outower, Sattan.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 120, 229:
Sit oot-our-fae the fire. . . . The gueedman's oot-our-by amo' the red-laan.Sh. 1888 B. Anderson Broken Lights 78:
Oot-ower upon a weel-kent hill.Cai. 1896 J. Horne Canny Countryside (1902) 30:
Out over, the ocean spread — its comfortless waves tilting up the steep and crouching back again.em.Sc. 1913 J. Black Gloamin' Glints 142:
Weel Saunders, yer in nae enviable plicht, an' I'm thankfu' I'm a wee bit ootowre.Sc. 1928 T. T. Alexander Psalms xciii. 1:
The warl' on siccar foonds is set; Ootowre it winna swee.Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 37:
Aa the fowk in Braemar an ootower war summoned tae gaither on the plain at the foun o Craig Choinnich.

2. Out of bed, up (Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 95; Sh., ne.Sc., Ags. 1964). Cf. I. 1.ne.Sc. 1888 D. Grant Keckleton 45:
By this time I was oot-owre an' dressin' wi' a' my micht.Fif. 1896 G. Setoun R. Urquhart xviii.:
He lies in his bed a' day . . . he loups outower an' bangs it down wi' pen and ink.

3. Throughout, all over; completely, to the full.Sc. 1745 Scots Mag. (June) 275:
The wee short loch out owre, when not a blast Has on its tap an angry curl cast, Was ne'er mair smooth.Uls. 1844 R. Huddleston Poems 84:
As if some ane wi' lousy mange, Was a' out ower crawlin'.Cai. 1872 M. M'Lennan Peasant Life II. 210:
As muckle mair butter an' cheese that wad pay her cost and wage oot ower an' agen.Bwk. 1873 A. Wanless Poems 153:
Ye'll no find their match in the warld outower.Edb. 1916 T. W. Paterson Wyse-Sayin's xxiv. 3:
By richt-kennins the chaumers o't are bienly plenish't oot-ower.

4. Besides, in addition, left over. Hence oot oweran [ower on], id. Cf. Atour(e), 2. (2).Abd. 1824 G. Smith Douglas 91:
Love . . . gie's them the skaith and the scorn out-o'er.Cai. 1916 J. Mowat Proverbs 7:
If ye lay 'e heid o' 'e soo till 'e tail o' 'e grice 'ere's nae muckle oot oweran [i.e. to choose between].

III. adj. Remote, living at a distance, in an outlying district.Lnk. 1922 T. S. Cairncross Scot at Hame 31:
Mind ye, ten pun' is a heap For an oot-owre tenant fermer.