Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

PIRLIE, n. Also pirl(e)y, peerlie-, pe(a)rlie-, purlie. Anything very small (Lth. 1825 Jam.; Ork., Per. 1966), gen. used attrib. in combs. 1. pirrlie-wee, adj., tiny, “teeny-weeny” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff 127). Hence pirlie-weeack, a thing or person small of their kind (Ib.); 2. pirlie-winkie, -winkle, the little finger, the pinkie (Lth. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., peerlie-winkle; ne.Sc., Ags., Fif., Wgt. 1966). Also in curtailed form pirlie, perlie, id. (Jam.; Ags. 1966).2. Sc. 1827 C. I. Johnstone Eliz. de Bruce III. iv.:
Ye ken Tam could thrash you wi' his little pirlie.
Mry. 1827 T. Lauder Wolf of Badenoch II. xxvi.:
I wad follow thee to the very warld's end; troth, thou may'st e'en whirl me round and round with thy pirlywinky.
Fif. 1899 Proc. Philos. Soc. Gsw. XXXI. 39:
The little finger is the curnie, the pinkie or the pearlie.
Sc. 1903 R. Ford Children's Rhymes 10:
This is the man that tell't a', And puir Pirly winkie paid for a'.

[An extended sense of pirlie. dim. of Pirl, sc. a little curled thing.]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Pirlie n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/pirlie>

20871

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: