Glossary Of Scottish Words Used By Robert Burns: G-Words

G-Words

by Robert Burns

Gab
The mouth, to speak boldly or pertly.
Gaberlunzie
Wallet-man, or tinker.
Gadsman
Plough-boy, the boy that drives the horses in the plough.
Gae
To go; gaed, went; gane, or gaen, gone;gaun, going.
Gaet, or gate
Way, manner, road.
Gairs
Parts of a lady's gown.
Gang
To go, to walk.
Gangrel
A wandering person.
Gar
To make, to force to; gar't, forced to.
Garten
A garter.
Gash, gashing
Wise, sagacious, talkative; to converse, conversing.
Gatty
Failing in body.
Gaucy
Jolly, large, plump.
Gaud and gad
A rod or goad.
Gaudsman
One who drives the horses at the plough.
Gaun
Going.
Gaunted
Yawned, longed.
Gawky, gawkie
Half-witted, foolish, romping; a thoughtless person and something weak.
Gaylies, gaylie
Pretty well.
Gear
Riches, goods of any kind.
Geck
To toss the head in wantonness or scorn.
Ged
A pike.
Gentles
Great folks.
Genty
Elegant.
Geordie
George, a guinea, called Geordie from the head of King George.
Get, geat
A child, a young one.
Ghaist, ghaistis
A ghost.
Gi'e
To give; gied, gave; gien, given.
Giftie
Diminutive of gift.
Giglets
Laughing maidens, playful girls.
Gillie, gillock
Diminutive of gill.
Gilpey
A half-grown, half-informed boy or girl, a romping lad, a hoyden.
Gimmer
A ewe two years old; a contemptuous term for a woman.
Gin
If, against.
Gipsey
A young girl.
Girdle
A round iron plate on which oat-cake is fired.
Girn, girning
To grin, to twist the features in rage, agony, etc.; grinning.
Girran
A poutherie girran, a little vigorous animal; a horse rather-old, but yet active when heated.
Gizz
A perriwig; the face.
Glaikit
Inattentive, foolish.
Glaive
A sword.
Glaizie
Glittering, smooth, like glass.
Glaumed
Grasped, snatched at eagerly.
Gled
A hawk.
Gleg
Sharp, ready.
Glen
Dale, deep valley.
Gleib, glieb, o' lan'
A portion of ground; the ground belonging to a manse is called the glieb, or portion.
Gley
A squint, to squint; a-gley, off at a side, wrong.
Gleyde
An old horse.
Glib-gabbit
That speaks smoothly and readily.
Glint, glintin'
To peep, peeping.
Glinted by
Went brightly past.
Gloamin'
The twilight.
Gloaming'-shot
Twilight, musing; a shot in the twilight.
Glow'r
To stare, to look; a stare, a look.
Glowrin'
Looking suspiciously around; gazing.
Glum
Displeased.
Glunch
A face with a grin.
Goavan
Walking as if blind, or without an aim.
Gor-cocks
The red game, red cock, or moor-cock.
Gowan
The flower of the daisy, dandelion, hawkweed, etc.
Gowany
Covered with daisies.
Gowd
Gold.
Gowf
A fool; the game of golf; to strike as the bat does the ball at golf.
Gowk
Term of contempt; a cuckoo.
Gowl
To howl.
Grained and gaunted
Groaned and yawned.
Graip
A pronged instrument for cleaning cowhouses.
Graith
Accoutrements, furniture, dress, gear.
Grane, or grain
A groan, to groan; graining, groaning.
Grannie
Grandmother.
Grape
To grope; grapit, groped.
Grat
Wept, shed tears.
Great, grit
Intimate, familiar.
Gree
To agree; to bear the gree, to be decidedly victor; gree't, agreed.
Green-graff
Green grave.
Greet
To shed tears, to weep; greetin', weeping.
Grey-neck-quill
A quill unfit for a pen.
Grien
Longing, desire.
Grieves
Stewards.
Grippit
Seized, snatched.
Groanin'-maut
Drink for the cummers at a lying-in.
Groat
To get the whistle of one's groat -- to play a losing game, to feel the consequences of one's folly.
Grousome, or gruesome
Loathsomely, grim.
Grozet
A gooseberry.
Grumph
A grunt, to grunt.
Grumphie, grumphin'
A sow; the snorting of an angry pig.
Grun'
Ground.
Grunstone
A grindstone.
Gruntle
The phiz, the snout; a grunting noise.
Grunzie
A mouth which pokes out like that of a pig; the face, the countenance.
Grushie
Thick, of thriving growth.
Gude, guid, guids
The Supreme Being; good; goods.
Gude auld-has-been
Was once excellent.
Guid mornin'
Good-morrow.
Guid e'en
Good evening.
Guidfather and Guidmother
Father-in-law and Mother-in-law.
Guidman and Guidwife
The master and mistress of the house; young guidman, a man newly married.
Gully, or gullie
A large knife.
Gulravage
Joyous mischief.
Gumlie
Muddy.
Gumption
Discernment, knowledge, talent.
Gusty, gustfu'
Tasteful.
Gutcher
Grandsire.
Gut-scraper
A fiddler.

Source:

The Poetical Works Of Robert Burns
Copyright 1910
Ward, Lock, and Co., Ltd