Page:Studies in Lowland Scots - Colville - 1909.djvu/258

234 Bruit, rumor, fama; brute, bruit, noise.

Chicknawd, talitrum, a spang, a chicknawd (chiquenaude, a fillip, flirt or bob—Cotgrave); naude=nœud, knot, knuckle; Lat. nodus, whence nodule. "Talitrum, a rap or fillip with the finger."—Suetonius.

Hurcheon, herinaceus, a hurcheon; Fr. hérisson; Lat. ericius, the prickly one, the hedgehog. From it comes urchin.

Lowe, liceor, to lowe (bid at auction), to cheape; allouer, formerly alouer, let out to hire; Low Lat., to admit a thing as proved, place, use, expend; allocare; "the law allows (assigns) it to you," in "Merchant of Venice."

Mowles, pernio, the mowles in the heels (chilblains); Fr. mule, slipper, kibe.

Osill, merula, an osill; avis, the blackbird (merle); Fr. oiseau, and Shakspere's "ousel-cock." Also derived from Ger. Amsel, found in England as early as the eighth century (Murray).

Panton, crepida, a pontoun or mule (slipper); Fr. patin, Eng. patten. Creepie (crepida) is a low stool, "Ne sutor ultra crepidam," let the cobbler stick to his stool. Murray says of panton, "origin unknown, but certainly not from patin."

Parsell, petro-selinum, parsell; Fr. persil. Sir Thomas Hope, in his "Diary" (1641), speaks of a dream in which he is caught in a thick mist, in hortis petrocellanis, as if it were in the gardens of parsley. But he is not thinking of the Lat. petro-selinum, from which "parsley" is derived, but punningly refers to his pet name for his favourite mansion of Craighall, near Ceres, in Fife. On another occasion he enters a solemn vow when on the point of setting out ad Petro-cellam (Craighall).

Pertrik, perdix, a pertrik, paitrik, partridge; Fr. perdrix.

Pursie, anhelus, pursie or short-ended. Pursie is short-winded. Palsgrave has pourcif for Mod.Fr. poussif, so poulser for pousser, to push, from Lat. pulsare. End, breath, is very common in Barbour and old writers, but long obsolete. It is of Norse origin.

Sowder, ferrumen, sowder, solder; Fr. soudure; Mod.Sc. soother.

Suldarts, cohors, a band of suldarts; Fr. soldart, a soldier.

Triacle, theriace, triacle, remeid against poison. This is the modern treacle, a word with quite a history. Mod. Eng. a sove-