Entry for 3 October 2006:
The Scots language is undergoing a revival and new translations are currently a hot topic here. Every Saturday, the Glasgow Herald publishes a wee column, entitled “Scots Word of the Week,” by Maggie Scott, which provides showcase for some of these developments. Last Saturday’s entry dealt with the Scots word wab, i.e., the internet (“web”). The Scots word for website is wabsteid (cognate with English “web” + “stead”).
A particularly interesting recent coinage is pitmirk thirl, meaning “black hole”: (pit = pit; mirk = black, dark [cognate with “murky”]; thirl = referring to something that binds [cognate with English “thrall”], that is, binding dark picture. (For an alternative etymology go to: http://www.scuilwab.org.uk/WirdOTheMonth/Mar2005.htm )
The more I learn about Scots, the more interesting it gets!
URL: www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk
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