Scottish National Dictionary

The Scottish National Dictionary (SND) was published in ten volumes (and 4,120 pages) between 1931 and 1976. It was first published online in 2004 with a further supplement added in 2005, bringing the total number of entries to c.29,000, including c.172,000 illustrative quotations.

Designed partly on regional lines and partly on historical principles, SND deals with all Scots words known to be in use or to have been in use since c.1700. The general vocabulary includes:

  1. Scots words that do not occur in Standard English except as acknowledged loan words;
  2. Scots words with cognates in Standard English;
  3. Words which have the same form in Scots and Standard English but have a different meaning in Scots;
  4. Legal, theological or ecclesiastical terms which, within our period, have been current in Scots speech, e.g. liege pousté, avizandum, action sermon;
  5. Words borrowed since c.1700 from other dialects or languages which have become current in General Scots or in any of its dialects, especially Gaelic words in areas on or near the western limit of Scots and Gypsy and Traveller words in the border areas.

All of its content is now available as part of DSL Online.

Follow the links below to see: