Place-Name Glossary
This is a glossary of Scots words which are used in place-names. Each entry gives the meaning of the word, alongside linguistic notes (discussed below) and modern and historical examples of the word in actual place-names in Scotland.
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| Modern Form | Older Scots Form | Etymology  | PoS | Definition | Modern Examples | Historical Evidence | SND Link | DOST Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| shiel | schele | ME schele | n | a rude (wooden) hut, a temporary building for seasonal accommodation or storage, a bothy; a shed; an outhouse; a small cottage, a hovel; a piece of pasturage on which a hut has been built, a summer pasturage; a shelter used by fishermen; a sheepcot; a summer or country retreat in the hills occupied by the gentry | Foulshiels (Roxburghshire); Shiels of Glendui (Aberdeenshire); Ketlleshiel (Berwickshire); North Shiel (West Lothian); Shielhill (Aberdeenshire, Angus); Cauldshiel (East Lothian); Galashiels (Selkirkshire); Shielwalls (Stirlingshire) | Bothkillscheles a1159; Windicheles c1200 Schotteschales 1202-8; Mayschelis a1214 | shiel n; S1 shiel n | schele, s(c)heil(l n | |
| seggy | segy | ME seggy | adj | sedgy, covered in or bordered with sedge or sedges; (marshy) | Seggieden (Angus, Fife); Seggiecrook (Banffshire); Seggy Neuk (Kirkcudbrightshire); Seggiehill (Fife); Seggy Gut (Kirkcudbrightshire) | Segyden 12thC; Seggymir 1302; Seggywellisheuid c1318; Segidene 1466 | seg n1; seggy adj | seg(g)y adj | |
| scrog, scrogg | scrog | ME skrogg | n | brushwood or scrub, thickets of bushes or small trees; an area or piece of land covered with scrub or brushwood; a stunted or crooked bush or low tree, a stump or root of a tree, a crabapple tree | Scroghill (Aberdeenshire); Scrogs of Drumruck (Kirkcudbrightshire); Scroggs (Dumfriesshire); Scrogbank (Selkirkshire); Crossford Scroggs (Dumfriesshire) | terram de Scrogges c1208; Scrogisston 1476; Scrogbank 1595; Priesthaugh Scrogg 1805 | scrog n1; S2 scrog n1; scrag n | scrog(g, skrog(g n | |
| spital | spittal | ME spitel | n | a hospice or shelter for travellers (in mountainous country); a house or place of refuge for the sick or destitute; land whose revenue supported a hospital; the hospital itself | Spital (Dunbartonshire); The Spittal Haugh (Aberdeenshire); Spittalburn (Angus); Spittal of Glenmuick (Aberdeenshire); Spittalrig (East Lothian); Spital Shore (Ross and Cromarty); Spittal (East Lothian); Port of Spittal (Wigtownshire) | Spetelcrag 1208-14; Spyttalhillis 1310; Spittaltoun 1565-6; Spittellis Hospitell 1641; Spittall Haugh 1721 | spital n | spit(t)al(l, spit(t)ell n | See also DOST hospitale n |
| spout | spout | ME spowte | n | a well, a forceful movement or discharge of water; a spring of water (issuing from the ground or a rock); a waterfall, a cascade, a cataract; a narrow enclosed defile or pathway, a gully in the face of cliffs; a narrow lane between houses; a pipe or conduit | The Red Spout (Aberdeenshire); Lynn Spout (Ayrshire); Spout Wells (Perthshire, Wigtownshire); Lochspouts (Ayrshire); Black Spout (Aberdeenshire, Perthshire); Spout Park (West Lothian); Corrie Spout (Stirlingshire); Garnock Spout (Renfrewshire); Spout of Ballagan (Stirlingshire) | Sanct Mwngowis Spowtis 1558; Spoutwellis 1585-6; Spoutwells 1662; The Spout of Welltrees 1807 | spout n; S2 spout n | spout n | |
| tod | tod | ME tod | n | a fox | Todhills (Angus, Midlothian); Todrig (Berwickshire); Todrigs Burn (Ayrshire); Todholes (Caithness, Dumfriesshire); Todlhole Knowe (Midlothian); Todhillock (Aberdeenshire); Todhead Point (Kincardineshire) | Todholerig 1165-82; Thodholesid 1214-49; Todlaw 1222; Todhillis 1587; Todhoillis 1621 | tod n1 | tod n1 | |
| teuchit, teewheet | tuchet | ME tuchet | n | the lapwing | Teuchat Knowe (Fife); Teuchatcroft (Angus); Teuchathead (Fife); Teuchatmuir (Perthshire) | Tyhwitemore c1320; Tuquhyt Myre 1475; Tauchieflattes 1666; Tuewheet Law 1810 | teuchit n; teewheet n | tuchet, tuquheit n | Compare SND teeock n |
| whinnie | whinnie | ME whinny | a | covered with whins | Whinnieliggate (Kirkcudbrightshire); Whinnyfold (Aberdeenshire); Whinny Hill (Edinburgh); Whinnie Knowes (Wigtownshire); Whinnyhall (Fife); Whinnydrums (Angus); Whinny Brae (Midlothian); Whinnyrig (Dumfriesshire) | Whinnie-Know 1652; Whinnie Grain 1700; the whinnie park 1715; Whinny Hill 1896 | whin n2 | whinnie adj | |
| threap | threpe, threip | ME Þrepe | n | a dispute, a quarrel (with regard to ownership of land) | Thriepland (Banffshire); Threaprig (North Lanarkshire); Threepwood (South Lanarkshire); Threapmuir (Kinross-shire); Threipmuir Reservoir (Midlothian) | Threpland c1200; Hafthrepland 1383; Threpleche 1425; threpfelde 1463 | threap n, S2 threap n | threp(e, threip n | |
| thorter | thortour | ME þwertouer | a | slanted, squint, awry; running across or at an oblique angle | Thorterdykes (Roxburghshire); Thorter Fell (Kirkcudbrightshire); Thorter Row (Dundee); Thorter Burn (East Lothian) | Thwortour-Raw 1489-90; thuorter land 1490; thortyrland 1535; thuortour gaittis of Korstoun 1569; thorter raw 1720 | thorter adj | thorto(u)r, thwortour, thwartour adj | |
| slap | slop | Middle Dutch slop | n | a gap, breach or hole (in a wall), an entrance or exit, an opening; a narrow lane running between houses; a pass or shallow valley between hills; a gate | Slap of Quoybeezie (Orkney); Waterslap (Stirlingshire); Slap of Faravill (Orkney); Coldstone Slap (Midlothian); Kirkslap (Stirlingshire); Slap of Warth (Orkney); Mote Slap (Wigtownshire); Slap of Grindela (Orkney) | Liggʒet Slappe 1561; Claysclope 1635; Barkerland slop 1707; Coldstaine Slap 1715 | slap n2; S2 slap n2 | slop, slap n1 | |
| clint, klint | clynt | ODan klint | n | a cliff, a high crag, a precipice; a rock or large stone; a crevice in rocks; steep faces on a high hill | Clints of Drumore (Kirkcudbrightshire); Clintwood Castle (Roxburghshire); Oak Clints (Kirkcudbrightshire); Clints (Midlothian); Clints of the Buss (Kirkcudbrightshire); Clinthill (Dumfriesshire, Fife); Clints of the Spout (Kirkcudbrightshire); Sound Clint (Kirkcudbrightshire) | Clinkskaillis 1556; Klintwood 1654; Clints March 1781; Clintwood 1832 | clint, klint n; S2 clint n | clint, clynt n | |
| stoddert, strother | srother | OE *strōðer, ME strother | n | a marshy place | Stockstrother (Roxburghshire); Bellstruther (Berwickshire); Yellowstruther (Midlothian); Williestrother Loch (Roxburghshire); Westruther (Berwickshire); Strutherhill (South Lanarkshire) | Harastrodar a1159; Kyrnestroder c1160; Strotherflat 13thC; Westsrother c1300 | stoddert n | strother n | Dodgy? |
| birken | birkin | OE *bircen | a | birchen, consisting of birch-wood | Birkenshaw (North Lanarkshire, West Lothian); Birkenbush (Angus, Banffshire); Birkenhill Croft (Morayshire); Birken Burn (Stirlingshire); Birkenside (Berwickshire) | Birchinsyde 1158; Birkenside c 1170; Birkynshawe 1336-37; Birkenbrewell 1664 | birken a | birkin, birken a | |
| cleugh, cleuch | cleuch | OE *clōh | n | a (narrow) gorge or ravine with steep rocky sides, usually the course of a stream; the steep side of a ravine, a cliff; a crag, a rock | Byrecleugh (Berwickshire); Hare Cleugh (East Lothian); Cleugh Hill (Wigtownshire); Buccleuch (Selkirkshire); The Cleuch (Midlothian); Point of the Cleugh (Wigtownshire) | Edwardes-cloch c1190; Ernesclucht c1350; Westircluch-heuyd c1370; Corsclewch 1456 | cleugh, cleuch n; S2 cleugh n | cleuch n | |
| flush, flash | flosche, flusch | OE *flæsc, ON flask | n | a piece of boggy ground (where the water frequently lies on the surface), a swampy place, a pool of water in a field | Flush Hill (Wigtownshire); Flosh (Dumfriesshire); Flass (Berwickshire, Fife); The Flashes (Midlothian); Floshend Loch (Dumfriesshire); Flesh Glen (Fife); The Floss (Selkirkshire); Foulflush (Wigtownshire); Flass Well (Berwickshire); Isle of Flosh (Dumfriesshire); Flesh Cleugh (Midlothian); Flask Wood (Dumfriesshire); Flosh Burn (Roxburghshire); Floshknowe (Dumfriesshire) | Flas 1388-89; Flashill 1531; Flasche 1550-51; The Flass 1569; Floshe 1569; Flask 1653; Flass 1654; Flash 1808 | flush n; flash n1 | flosche n; flusch, fluche n, flus, flous, n | |
| aik | ake | OE āc | n | oak, an oak tree | Aikrig (Dumfriesshire); Oakwood (Selkirkshire); Oakbank (Midlothian); Oakfield (Fife) | Akedene c1204; Aikwod 1567-68; Aikrig 1662; Oak Wood 1684 | aik n; S2 aik n; oak n | ake, aik n; ADDS ake, aik n; (oke) ock(e n | |
| auld, owld, old | ald, auld, old | OE ald | a | old; former, previous | Auldhame (East Lothian); Auldgirth (Dumfriesshire); Auldhall (Fife, Stirlingshire); Old Liston (Midlothian); Auldcastle Road (Inverness); Oldmeldrum (Aberdeenshire) | Aldeham 1094; Aldehamstoc 1127; Aldestelle 1136; Aldetuneburne c1200; Auldton 1329 | auld adj; S1 auld adj; S2 auld adj; old adj; S1 old adj; S2 old adj; owld adj; S2 owld adj | ald, auld a; old(e, ould(e a | |
| aiken | akin, oken | OE ǣcen, ācen | a | consisting of oaks, oaken | Aikendean (Midlothian); Aikenhead (Glasgow); Aikencleugh (Ayrshire); Aikenshaw (Dunbartonshire) | Akinhede 1260; Akynhevid 1379; Eck(i)eden 1612 Oakendean 1773 | aiken adj | akin, aikin a; oken, oikin, oa(c)ken a | |
| bent | bent | OE beonet | n | a strong coarse variety of grass of a reedy or rush-like character (found on moorland or links); a place where such grass grows; a sandy hillock or a stretch of open ground covered with bent grass; a (grassy) slope or hillside | Benthead (Ayrshire, West Lothian); Gullane Bents (East Lothian); Bentfoot (North Lanarkshire); The Bents (West Lothian); White Bents (Angus) | The Bentis 1586; Bents of Balruddie 1662; Broadbents 1773; Southbent 1755 | bent n1; S1 bent n1; bent n2 | bent n | |
| bern | bern, barn | OE berern | n | a barn | Barnhill (Glasgow, Inverness) Kingsbarns (Fife); West Barns (East Lothian); Barnhead (Angus); Barnton (Edinburgh); Barn Hills (Wigtownshire); Barns Ness (East Lothian); Barns of Craig (Angus) | Northbernis 1328; Suthbarne 1373; Berntoun 1390-1406; le Barnis 1490; bornestede 1560 | S1 bern n2; S2 bern n2 | bern n1; barn, barne n; ADDS barn n; born(e n | |
| bleck, black | blak, blake | OE blæc | a | black; (of a hill) covered with heather; (of a house) built of drystone and earth | Black Law (Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire, Fife); The Black Isle (Ross and Cromarty); Blackchester (Berwickshire); Black Bothy (Abderdeenshire); Blackbraes (Stirlingshire); Blackwood (Dumfriesshire); Blackhall (Edinburgh); Blakedean (Roxburghshire); Blackcastle (Midlothian); Blackbyres (Ayrshire); Black Grain (Selkirkshire); The Black Bridge (Inverness) | Blakepol c1190; Blachedene c1200; Blachope 1218; Blakhall c1330 | S2 bleck adj; black adj; S1 black adj, S2 black adj; black-house n; S1 black-house n; S2 black-house n | blak, blac(k a; blake, blaik a | See also DOST bla, blae, a |
| blin | blind | OE blind | a | not patent to the sight, covered, hidden; obscure, dark; unfertile, unproductive, barren | The Blind Tunnel (Glasgow); Blindwells (Angus, Fife); Blind Capul (Fife); Blindhaugh Burn (Selkirkshire); Blindwell (Stirlingshire); Blindwalls (Wigtownshire) | Blyndewelle c1200; Blindethuayt c1218; Blindsyke c1350; Blyndle 1455; Blindley 1543 | blin, blind adj; S2 blin adj | blind, blynd a | |
| braid | brade | OE brād | a | broad or wide | Braidshaw (Midlothian); Braidley (Roxburghshire); Braidfield (Dunbartonshire); Broadhaugh (Roxburghshire); Broadleys (Fife); Braidwood (Midlothian) | Bradestrother c1200; Brademedwe c1200; Bradeforde c1230; Bradewude a1240 | braid adj; S1 braid adj; S2 braid adj | brade, braid a | |
| brume, broom | brume, brome | OE brōm | n | the plant broom, bushes or stretches of broom | Broompark Farm (Glasgow); Broomhill (Ross and Cromarty); Broomhouse (East Lothian, Edinburgh, Roxburghshire); Broomridge (Stirling); Broomhall (Fife); Broomlands (Dumfriesshire, Midlothian, Roxburghshire); Broomknowes (Ayrshire) | Brumcrok c.1300; Bruymdyk 1490; Bromeparkis 1556; brumecroft c1567 | brume, brim n; S1 brume n; breem, breme n1; broom n1 | brume n; brome, browme n |
Glossary compiled by Dr Alison Grant of Scottish Language Dictionaries and the Scottish Place-Name Society.
Linguistic Notes
The glossary provides the Modern Scots form of each place-name element, and then traces the word back through the Older Scots form to its etymological root. Illustration of the development of each element is found in the historical forms, and modern usage is illustrated by the current place-name examples provided. The glossary also provides references to the two major Scots dictionaries, the Scottish National Dictionary (SND) and the Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (DOST) together with any relevant supplementary material (the first SND supplement is marked S1, and the second S2, and the additions to DOST are marked ADDS). These dictionaries can be accessed online at www.dsl.ac.uk. Further supplementary material has been added from two 1940s Ph. D. theses, The Non-Celtic Place-Names of the Scottish Border Counties by May Williamson and The Place Name of Midlothian by Norman Dixon, both of which are available for consultation in the ‘resources’ section of the Scottish Place-Name Society website. The glossary contains Scots words derived from Old English, Old Norse, Middle Dutch, Anglo-Norman French and Latin, together with more recent loan-words from Gaelic and Insular Norn. For example, the whilst ‘glen’ is primarily a Gaelic place-name element, occurring in names such as Glen Affric and Glenmore, the word was also borrowed into Scots, where it was used to form names such as Glenhead and Glens of Foudland. Similarly, although names in ‘geo’ are often from Old Norse gjá, including Ramnageo and Papilgeo, the word was also borrowed into Scots from Norn, and used to coin names such as Millburn Geo and Geo of Dykesend.Counties (where given) are pre-1975 local government reorganisation.
PoS = Part of Speech (noun, adjective, etc.)
