Slainte
December 27th 2025
Borrowed from the Gaelic slàinte mhath ‘good health’, slainte is a popular toast in Scots with a meaning equivalent to ‘cheers’ in English. It is defined in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) as, “a toast, good wishes before drinking”.
The term makes a late appearance in DSL, with the earliest example coming from the Times in January 1987: “Asda’s blended Scotch whisky is still a good buy at £6.65, and even better is the Co-op’s low strength Arden House (£5.99), plus their wondrous Heatherdale (£6.35) and Majority (£6.69) blends. Slainte mhath!”.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be used as a toast with whisky. The following is from the Herald in October 1994: “Which takes us back to where we started and the triumphant opening of the Glaschu Brewery. So raise your glasses to the year-round pleasure of delicious Scottish brewed ale. Slainte!”.
The term is still in use, as the following letter in the Herald of July 2023 illustrates: “Due to lapses in standards, I rarely venture out to hostelries anymore, preferring to stay home with a ‘cairry-oot’ of my own choice … Slainte!”.
But how far back does the simple ‘cheers’ meaning go when the speaker is a non-Gael? The following comes from the Scotsman of October 1937 in a piece about a gathering of the Munro Clan: “I drink to the health of all the Munros present, to all those in Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales, Munros on the sea and over the sea. Slainte”.
Dictionaries of the Scots Language would like to thank Bob Dewar for illustrating our Scots Word of the Week feature.
