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 BurnsCopyright 1910
Ward, Lock, and Co., Ltd