Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1799-1966
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WAYGATE, n. Also wa'gate (Lnk. 1825 Jam.), wa(ye)gait, wayget (Lth. 1825 Jam.).
1. Passageway, thoroughfare; room, space (Sc. 1825 Jam.). Also fig.Sc. a.1800 Jacob. Relics (Hogg 1819) 24:
He's awa to sail, Wi' water in his waygate, An' wind in his tail.Sc. 1866 Carlyle Reminisc. I. 101:
"Upon all these you have will and waygate," an expressive Annandale phrase of the completest welcome.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B. 324:
There's no muckle waygate in this sma' hoose.
2. Speed, progress, headway (Lnk., Lth. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1973); push, drive, energy (Lnk. 1973). Also in n.Eng. dial.Slk. 1875 Border Treasury (8 May) 463:
Aw didna make abune a hunder yards o' waygate i' twenty minutes.Kcb. 1900:
He [a shearer] could do't weel eneuch but he had nae wa'gate.Ayr. 1966:
He has nae wa'gait about him.
3. A way of escape; an exit, escape; specif. a means of drainage for surplus water.Sc. 1833 J. Jackson Essays Agric. Subjects 29:
It will deepen the soil, give the surface-water a proper waygate.s.Sc. 1857 H. S. Riddell Psalms lv. 8:
I wad haesen my saufe wayegait frae the wundie stourm an' tempist.
4. A means of getting sale for produce or goods, an outlet. Cf. Outgate.Kcb. c.1930:
The grocer gets sae mony eggs he canna get waygate for them.
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"Waygate n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/waygate>
