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: 1728, 1786-1904
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COSIE, adj., n.2. Also cosy, the spelling adopted by Eng.; †coszie, cossie, coz(e)y, cozie, coozie, coosie. [′kozi]
I. adj. Of persons: warm and comfortable, well-wrapped up; of places: sheltered, providing comfort and protection. Also adv. Gen.Sc. and in Eng. use since the mid 18th c. but prob. made popular after Burns.Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 63:
To keep you cosie in a Hoord. Ayr. 1786 Burns To a Mouse v.:
Cozie here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell. s.Sc. 1793 T. Scott Poems 353:
Thy bosom is a coozie biel. Abd. 1832 W. Scott Poems 18:
I'll haud ye cozey yet, John, as I have ever deen. Ags. 1846 G. Macfarlane Rhymes 64:
Or, sairly tired wi'out-door mirth, They huddle round the cozie hearth. Ork. 1904 Dennison Sketches 14:
An' doon I sit i' the water an shave mesel' sae coosie i'a cauld mornin'.
II. n. 1. A baby's cap (Dmf. 1865 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. 57).
2. A woollen scarf (Abd.22, Lnk.3 1937). Ayr. publ. 1892 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage, etc and Poems 340:
I took my cosey frae my craig, My bonnet frae my pow.
