Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
PULT, n., v. Also polt (Marw.).
I. n. 1. A short stout dumpy person (Ork. 1929 Marw.; Ork., Per., Uls. 1967). Hence pultie, polty, stout, podgy. Also in n.Eng. dial.Rxb. 1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 145:
Pultie pedants, selfish, vainly prood O' what ye havena, yet fu' fain would have.Ork. 1929 Marw.:
A polty bit o' bairn — of a heavy baby.
2. “A dirty, ungraceful woman” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 135), a slattern.
II. v. With about: to slouch about in an idle, slothful manner, to go around with a dirty, neglected appearance (Gregor). Hence pultie, adj., lazy, dirty and neglected in appearance, good-for-nothing.
[Orig. uncertain. ? Variant of Eng. poult, a chicken, young child. Cf. Powt. It is not certain that all meanings belong to the same word.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Pult n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 26 Mar 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/pult>
