Notion
October 4th 2025
According to the Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL), to have a notion o’ someone is to have a “liking or affection” for them, especially when they’re viewed as a potential romantic partner.
DSL’s earliest example comes from Archibald Steele’s Shepherd’s Wedding (1789): “I hae lang, altho’ I didna tell, Had a strong notion o’ the lass mysel’”.
The following rather clinical observation comes from John MacTaggart’s The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia (1824): “In the regular routine of a matrimonial transaction; first taking the notion; secondly, courting”.
Moving on to the twentieth century, Neil Munro used the term in Doom Castle (1901): “She has a notion o’ the Frenchman frae the first glisk o’ him”. We also have a warning from Orkney in R. T. Johnston’s Stenwick Days (1952): “The sooner thoo’re feenished wi’ Gabriel Stoot the better. He his a notion on Portia Rosie”.
The term has survived into the twenty-first century. In November 2015, the Press and Journal covered the following dilemma from a reader: “I’ve taken a notion to my neighbour who is desirable, couthy, handsome, well-groomed, and very good with his hands. We’re both single and second-hand but, sadly, his halitosis is too much for me.”
Then, in April 2022, the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald shared the following memory: “In the late sixties, she was employed periodically on Dublin sailings and in March 1967, I sailed on her from Glasgow to Dublin to visit a young colleen I had a notion of at the time”. A much more pleasant example, I’m sure you’ll agree!
Dictionaries of the Scots Language would like to thank Bob Dewar for illustrating our Scots Word of the Week feature.
