Glossary Of Scottish Words Used By Robert Burns: W-Words
W-Words
by Robert Burns
- Wa'
- Wall; wa's, walls.
- Wabster
- A weaver.
- Wad
- Would; to bet, a bet, a pledge.
- Wadna
- Would not.
- Wadset
- Land on which money is lent; a mortgage.
- Wae
- Woe; waefu', sorrowful, wailing.
- Waefu'-woodie
- Hangman's rope.
- Waesucks! Wae's me!
- Alas! O the pity!
- Wa'-flower
- Wall-flower.
- Waft
- Woof; the cross thread that goes from the shuttle through the web.
- Waifs an' crocks
- Stray sheep and old ewes, past breeding.
- Wair
- To lay out, to expend.
- Wale, wal'd
- Choice, to choose; chosen.
- Walie
- Ample, large, jolly, also an interjection of distress.
- Wame, wamefu'
- The belly; a belly-full.
- Wanchansie
- Unlucky.
- Wanrest, wanrestfu'
- Restless, unrestful.
- Wark
- Work.
- Wark-lume
- A tool to work with.
- Warld's worm
- A miser.
- Warl', or warld
- World.
- Warlock
- A wizard; warlock-knowe, a knoll where warlocks once held tryste.
- Warly
- Worldly, eager in amassing wealth.
- Warran'
- A warrant, to warrant.
- Warsle, warstle, warsl'd, or warstl'd
- Wrestle, wrestling, struggling; wrestled.
- Warst
- Worst.
- Wastrie
- Prodigality.
- Wat
- Wet; I wat -- I wot -- I know.
- Wat
- A man's upper dress; a sort of mantle.
- Water brose
- Brose made of meal and water simply, without the addition of milk, butter, etc.
- Wattle
- A twig, a wand.
- Wauble
- To swing, to reel.
- Waught
- Draught.
- Waukin
- Waking, watching.
- Waukit
- Thickened as fullers do cloth.
- Waukrife
- Not apt to sleep.
- Waur, waur't
- Worse, worsted.
- Wean
- A child.
- Wearie, or weary
- Many a weary body, many a toilsome person.
- Weary-widdle
- Toilsome contest of life.
- Weason
- Weasand, windpipe.
- Weavin' the stocking
- To knit stockings. See Stockin'. Throwing the stockin'.
- Wechts
- Corn baskets.
- Wee
- Little; wee things, little ones; wee bits, a small matter.
- Weed
- Jugs.
- Weeder-clips
- Instrument for removing weeds.
- Weel
- Well; weelfare, welfare.
- Weet
- Rain, wetness; to wet.
- Weird
- Fate.
- We'se
- We shall.
- Wha, whase, wha's
- Who, whose, who's.
- Whaizle
- To wheeze.
- Whalpit
- Whelped.
- Whang
- A leathern thong; a piece of cheese, bread, etc.
- Whare
- Where. Whare'er, where'er.
- What reck
- Nevertheless.
- Wheep
- To fly nimbly, to jerk; penny-wheep, small beer.
- Whid
- The motion of a hare running, but not frightened; a lie.
- Whidden
- Running as a hare, or coney.
- Whigmeleeries
- Whims, fancies, crotchets.
- Whilk
- Which.
- Whingin'
- Crying, complaining, fretting.
- Whins
- Gorse.
- Whirligigums
- Useless ornaments, trifling appendages; the capitals which surmount the columns on the new bridge of Ayr.
- Whisht
- Silence; to hold one's whisht, to be silent.
- Whisk, whisket
- To sweep. to lash.
- Whiskin' beard
- A beard like the whiskers of a cat.
- Whissle
- A whistle, to whistle.
- Whitter
- A hearty draught of liquor.
- Whittle
- A knife.
- Whunstane
- A whinstone.
- Whyles
- Whiles, sometimes.
- Wi'
- Wish.
- Wick
- To strike a stone in an oblique direction -- a term in curling.
- Wicker
- Willow (the smaller sort).
- Widdifu'
- Twisted like a withy; one who merits hanging.
- Wiel
- A small whirlpool.
- Wifie-wifkie
- A diminutive or endearing name, for wife.
- Wight
- Stout, enduring.
- Willyart-glower
- A bewildered, dismayed stare.
- Wimple, wimplet
- To meander, meandered; to enfold.
- Wimplin'
- Waving, meandering.
- Win, win't, wind
- To wind, to winnow; winded, as a bottom of yarn.
- Win, wons
- Live, dwells.
- Winna
- Will not.
- Winnin'-thread
- Putting thread into hanks.
- Winnock
- A window.
- Winsome
- Hearty, vaunted, gay.
- Wintle
- A staggering motion; to stagger, to reel.
- Winze
- A curse, or imprecation.
- Wiss
- To wish.
- Withouten
- Without.
- Wizened
- Hide-bound, dried, shrunk.
- Wonner
- A wonder, a contemptuous appellation.
- Woo'
- Wool.
- Woo
- To court, to make love to.
- Woodie
- A rope; more properly one of withies or willows.
- Woody
- Halter.
- Wooer-babs
- The garter knitted below the knee with a couple of loops.
- Wordy
- Worthy.
- Worset
- Worsted.
- Wow
- An exclamation of pleasure or wonder.
- Wrack
- To tease, to vex.
- Wraith
- A spirit, a ghost, an apparition exactly like a living person, whose appearance is said to forebode the person's approaching death; also wrath.
- Wrang
- Wrong, to wrong.
- Wreeth
- A drifted heap of snow.
- Wud
- Wild, mad; wud-mad, distracted.
- Wumble
- A wimble.
- Wyle
- To beguile.
- Wyliecoat
- A flannel vest.
- Wyte
- Blame, to blame.
Source:
The Poetical Works Of Robert BurnsCopyright 1910
Ward, Lock, and Co., Ltd