Page:Studies in Lowland Scots - Colville - 1909.djvu/57

Rh with precisely the same force among our herring fishers, who go as dealsmen and half-dealsmen. A common asseveration is "bi sunjai," the "verily" of the Authorised Version. Quite a long story might be told of this word and its cognates ; enough to say it lives in Sc. "My san!" a variant of "My certe!" Professor Skeat connects "sunja" with our archaic "sooth."

Turning now to verbs we find similar evidence of identity. The Goth said bide (beidan) for staying in a place. Jesus asks of the unbelieving generation, How long must I thole (thulan) you? Bartimæus, now no longer blind, throwing off (af-wairp-ands) his robe and loupin up (us-hlaujpands), cam at (to) Jesus. The elect are the waled (waljan) or chosen. The crown of thorns—wipja us thaurnum—is a wuppin o' thorns, from wipjan, to twist or plait, the Sc. wup, beautifully used in the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens,—

The regular verb in Go. for the act of perception is gaumjan, the expressive Sc. gumpshin. For a strictly mental act Wulfila uses hugjan, to think, which, with the particle of reversal, for, Ger. ver, is Sc. for-hoo, to forsake, as in "Johnny Gibb," "I wadna say nor the laird wud hae to forhoo's bit bonny nest." To strike or cuff with the open hand is kaupat-jan, Sc. gowpen. Finally giutan, to pour out water, is quite a Sc. favourite, and developed curious meanings such as gyte = silly (cf. Lat. ef-futio from the same root). In "Johnny Gibb" is "Loshtie, man, ye're seerly gyaun gyte," and again from an old poem,—

Lowland Scots preserves many such verbs in their Gothic senses and sometimes even in sound. Thus gairnjan, to yearn for, is heard better in Sc. girn than its equivalent grin; bismeitan, used when Christ anoints the blind man's eyes, is