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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Quotation dates: 1929

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SKAAVE, v. Also skav (Jak.), skaav. To scrape, shave, scratch, to skin, abrade; to hoe, scrape off weeds (Ork. 1970). Freq. in vbl.n. and deriv. skaavin, 1. in pl.: the scrapings of food from the bottom of a pot (Sh. 1970). Cf. Skovin; 2. a sea-taboo term for a cat (Sh. 1897 J. Jakobsen Dial. Shet. 27), deriv. skavnas(h)i, id. (Ib.). For the second element cf. O.N. nasar, the nose, nostrils. [skɑ:v]Ork. 1929 Marw.:
He skaaved his knuckles against the wa'. Are you skaaved your tatties yet?

[Norw. dial. skava, O.N. skafa, to scrape, rub off, shave. Jak. explains the taboo name as from the cat's habit of washing its face with its paw with a kind of shaving motion, but scratching with the claws may rather be alluded to. Cf. kramma s.v. Kram.]

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