Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
SWITE, v., n. Also swit(t) (Jak.), swyt-. swatty-, sweet-. [swəit, swɪt-, swit-]
†I. v. To bale out (water) from a boat (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928)), orig. in fishermen's taboo usage.Sh. 1952 New Shetlander No. 31. 27:
We wir shippin mair water dan we wir switin oot.
II. n. 1. A small amount of liquid (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928)).
2. In dim. forms swit(t)ek, switik, swytik, swattyek, sweetie-, (1) freq. in pl. a child's squirt or water-shooter, esp. one made from the stalk of an umbelliferous plant, e.g. the wild angelica (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), 1947 Sh. Folk-Bk. (Tait) I. 86, Sh. 1972, switiks, swytiks). Also in comb. sweetie-trump, id. (Sh. 1972); (2) a baling-scoop (Sh. 1897 J. Jakobsen Dial. Sh. 28).
[Norw. dial. skvett, a sprinkle, a splash, a little water, skvetta, to squirt, a squirt made of a plant-stalk, angelica.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Swite v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 22 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/swite>
