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Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

‡SKIFTING, n. Also scifting, skifthing, scefting. A narrow piece of boarding, esp. one put round the foot of the walls of a room, a skirting-board (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; em., wm. and s.Sc. 1970). Also skifting-board, id. (Watson).Edb. 1754 Contract for building Exchange App.:
To skifting-boards, corner styles, and wall-plates, 93 yards, at 2s. 6d. To 25 yards skiftings, at 2s. 6d.Edb. 1782 Session Papers, Milne v. Thomson (21 Sept.) 15:
To grounds, scefting, and fallings, per foot lineal . . . 1½d.Sc. 1814 J. Sinclair Agric. Scot. I. 161:
The space at the bottom of the walls, between the wall and the back of the scifting board.Sc. 1842 J. Aiton Clerical Econ. 185:
Take stone, hewn and well jointed, and set it as a skifthing round the whole wall.Rnf. 1904 Private MS. per wm.Sc.¹:
Plaster grounds and skifting.Dmf. 1912 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo 60:
Fixin' a skiftin roon the lobby.Fif. 1933 J. Ressich Thir Braw Days 28:
Tearin' up the skiftins an' fair cawin' the guts oot o' the presses.em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 144:
And with her stick she chapped the walls; the stonework around the lum, the wooden skifting at floor-level, the floorboards themselves.