Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
WAN, n.2 A general and imprecisely defined term for a locality, an area, a region. Freq. suffixed to a n. and giving the sense ‘the direction of — '; also used adv. without prep. = in the direction of, -wards (Abd. 1825 Jam.). Combs. doonwan, see Doon, adv.1, III. 42.; east-wan, north-wan (Fif. 1957).n.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
With implies that the word, to which it is joined, expresses the place of one's destination; Wan does not convey this idea. With is not arbitrarily affixed to words; Wan is, “He was gäin to Aberdeenwan;” He was on the road to Aberdeen.Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xviii.:
Some hyne doon as far's we cud see, comin' fae the Ba'dyfash wan.Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS. ii.:
He's maybe heard some tidings aboot her, him bein' awa tae that wan the day.Abd. 1925 Greig & Keith Last Leaves 157:
Your gloves shall be the lockerin clover, That grows in yonder wan.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Wan n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 10 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/wan_n2>