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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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

SPEEDER, n., v. Also speedar (Sc. 1879 P. H. Waddell Isaiah lix. 5), speedir (Fif. 1894 J. Menzies Our Town xii.), speedur; speedard (Sc. 1825 Jam.), speedart, -ert, speddart (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 433; Kcb. 1901 R. Trotter Gall. Gossip 308); spidder (Abd. 1865 G. Macdonald Alec Forbes iv.), spither (Id. lxx.). Sc. forms and usages of Eng. spider (Sc. 1826 J. Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 92, Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales (1837) V. 179; Rxb. 1847 J. Halliday Rustic Bard 95; Clc. 1885 J. Beveridge Poets Clc. 156; Fif., Ayr. 1923–26 Wilson; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai; I. and m.Sc. 1971). [′spidər]

I. n. 1. As in Eng. Used attrib. of speech: thin and mincing.Dmf. 1912 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo 71:
His pronunciation was of the “speedert” order.

Combs. (1) speeder-jenny, the crane-fly or daddy longlegs (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; sm. and s.Sc. 1971); (2) speederlegs, id. (I.Sc., Rxb. 1971); (3) spider-webster, a spider (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.; Per., Ayr. 1971).

2. Fig. “a tough old creature tight as a wire” (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 433). Cf. the opprobrious use of Eng. spider.

3. In pl.: a nickname for Queen's Park football team, from the alternate black and white horizontal stripes on the players' jerseys. Gen.Sc. in sporting usage.Sc. 1967 R. A. Crampsey Game for Game's Sake 34:
The hooped jerseys that gave the club their affectionate nickname, The Spiders, first saw the light of day [in 1873].

4. A penny-farthing bicycle (Ork., Bnff., Abd. 1971).Abd. 1955 Trans. Bch. Club XVII. iv. 61:
The old high machines, termed “spiders”.

5. A trout-fly dressed without wings. Gen.Sc.Rxb. 1917 Border Mag. (Jan. 1932) 2:
I haena fished wi' onything but speedurs for thirty-five years.

II. v. 1. Ppl.adj. spidered, in muslin and gauze weaving: having a pattern like a spider's web. Vbl.n. spidering, weaving in this pattern, a kind of netting.Sc. 1807 J. Duncan Art of Weaving 206:
The whip, or spidering, is alternately pulled to the right and left in a zig zag direction, but the whip threads do not cross each other.
Sc. 1814 J. Sinclair Agric. Scot., App. II. 319:
Spidered, seeded, and numerous species of drawloom and other work.

[The long vowel derives from a Mid.Eng. trisyllabic form spĭthere > spēther. O.Sc. speidder, a spider, a.1585.]

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"Speeder n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/speeder>

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