Scottish Words Glossary: T from A-Z

Scottish Word	Phonetic	Meaning	Word in Context
Scottish Word	Phonetic	Meaning	Word in Context
tabacha	tə′bɑ:kɑ	tobacco	in context
tablet | taiblet	ˈteblət	a sweetie made from sugar, butter etc. with a stiff friable fudgy texture served up by my grannie as a slab in a flat tin to cut up ourselves - highland toffee was my favourite sweetie though, a toffee bar so hard you could break your teeth on it
tabour		beat, thrash, also a drum
tack		a lease, period of time
tack | taik		tack, a 'stitch' of clothing, saunter
tacket		a hobnail as in tackety boots; boots with soles studded with hobnails
tackety bits		boots with soles studded with hobnails	in context
tongue tackit	ˈtʌŋˈtakət	tongue tied
tackle		tackle, the male parts
tadger	tadʒər	penis
tae	te	to, toe, each of the thongs at the end of a tawse (3)	in context
tae-come		arrival, profit
tae-faw		lean-to building
tae-nam	teˈnem	nick name
taft		toft, a homestead and its land
taghairm		the traditional Highland arts of divination	in context
taid | taed		toad
taidspue		toad spawn
taigle | teagle	ˈtegl	tangle, harass, delay, detain, hinder	in context
taigle the cleek		hinder the workings of a mine	in context
taiken		token
tail		tail, long narrow bit of land jutting out into the sea from a bigger piece, workings at the edge of water in a mine
tailyie	ˈteljɪ	cut or slice of meat
taen	ten	taken	in context
taen awa	tenˈawɑ	taken away (by the fairies)
taen like		taken by surprise
tairge | targe | terge		to scold, to examine rigorously, a round leather shield
tairible | tairrible		terrible
tairt		tart
taisch	taɪʃ	pre ghost of one about to die
taissle | taisle | tassel	ˈrezl	entangle
tait | tate | teat		a small tuft (hair, wool), tuft of grass, a small amount	in context
taiver	ˈtevər	wander about, wander in mind, rags, tatters
tak | tack	tak	take	in context
takin	takən	taking	in context
tak heed		learn from your betters or elders	in context
tak awa		eat or drink heartily
tak naeweel	takˈneˈwil	become ill
tam o shanter		type of bonnet, a round flat crowned woolen cap often with a toorie on top	in context
tane		one in contrast to other - tane tither - the one of two
tang		large coarse seaweed
tap		top, tuft of hair, forelock, top - the spinning toy	in context
tap-pickle		the grain at the top of the stalk
tapetless		senseless
tapmaist	ˈtapˈmest	topmost
tappet-hen		a tufted hen, a bottle holding three quarts of claret traditionally the lid knob is like a hen's tuft
tappet swarm		the first swarm of bees from a hive
tappet-thrawn		headstrong, wooden headed, inflexible	in context
tappietourie | tappietoorie	ˈtapɪˈturɪ	tassel, pom-pom, something which rises to a peak or a top ornament
tappit		topped
tapsalteirie | tapsalteerie | topsalteerie	tapsaltirɪ	upside down, muddled, topsy turvie	in context
Stourie, stouchie, gaudie brierie! Dinging a' things tapsalteerie		bustling, fussing, prankish, prickly! Knocking all things up and over
tap wicht		best of the bunch, best sturdy warrior	in context
tarbet		an isthmus, a neck of land that you can drag a boat across between two navigable bits of water
tarloch		small weak or worthless creature, squeamish
tarmagan		ptarmagan
tarmegant		violent, argumentative person	in context
tarrock		a tern
tarrow	ˈtarɪ	linger, be reluctant
tartan		woolen cloth with a pattern of crossing stripes at right angles of different colours
fireside tartan | grannies tartan | tinkers tartan		mottled skin from sitting too close to the fire as witnessed on my very own granny
tary	ˈtɛrɪ	vexation, harass
tash	ˈtaʃ	a clasp, a buckle, to fasten, stain, smudge, moustache	in context
tashie		tattered unkempt appearance
tasker		a hired man paid for specific tasks	in context
tass, tassie		cup, goblet (for spirits) whisky	in context
tastie		tasty	in context
tattie | tawtie	ˈtɑtɪʔ	potato, your head	in context
tattie-bing		a clamp of potatoes
tattie-bogle		scarecrow	in context
tattie chapper		potato masher
tattie howker		a picker of potatoes - in the days when tattie holidays from school really were for going tattie picking every day - I know, I was one of those school children that howked tatties	in context
tattrel		rag
taucht	ˈtɑxt	taught
tauk		talk
taum		sullen angry mood, peevish	in context
taupie	ˈtɑp	giddy, idle
taut		tangled mat of hair or wool
taw | taa		knead, twist, tug (the once hard work of preparing leather or flax)
tawpie		a foolish woman
taws | tawse	ˈtɑz	leather punishment strap with three short slits on the hitting end to increase the sting (toes) - it takes skill to make it sting though, only two teachers out of many do I remember for that	in context
tawted		matted
tea		tea, evening meal	in context
tedisome	ˈtɪdɪsəm	tedious, tiresome
tee		(golf) small heap of dirt or wee peg (Trump) that the golf ball is driven from at the start of each hole, (curling) the centre part of the concentric circles marked on the ice the centre of which is where you intend your curling stones to end up
teedle	ˈtwidl	sing or hum a tune without the words
teeger		tiger
teel | teil		till land
teem | teim		pour down	in context
teen	tin	harm, trouble
teendi | taindie | teenty		the numeral two - from a sheep counting method or a children's counting rhyme - zeendie, teendy, tethery, muhndery, baombe, hecturi, zecturi, aover, daover, dek - that's a children rhyme for sure, but all the shepherds I knew used to count all the legs of all the sheep and then divide the total by four.	in context
teepical | teipical		typical
teet | teit		peep, peer, glance, the smallest squeak	in context
teeterin		tottering	in context
tethery | tehtery | taedheri		the numeral three – from a counting rhyme - zeendie, teendy, tethery, muhndery, baombe, hecturi, zecturi, aover, daover, dek. Personally I think it only goes up to seven, zecturi the magic number, and then it's - all over, do over, tag you're it.	in context
teetle | teitle		title
teistɪ	təistɪ	the wild guillemot
tellt | telt | tald	ˈtɛlt	told	in context
tellin	ˈtɛlən	telling	in context
tenaby		numeral ten from a counting rhyme
tender | tenner		sickly, in poor health
tenement		large building of three or so stories high divided into family flats with each section being served by one stair and an entry passage
tenner		ten pound note
tenon	ˈtɛnən	tendon
tent		pay attention, to tend to, to heed, to observe, a tenth	in context
tentie	ˈtɛntɪ	careful, attentive, watchful	in context
tersie-versie		topsy turvie in a disorderly random way
teuch | tyeuch | cheuch | teugh	tjux	tough, durable, difficult to chew	in context
teuchit | teewheat	ˈtjuxət	lapwing, peewit
teuchter | chuchter	ˈtʃuxtər	highlander, bumpkin, country boy from the sticks (contempt)	in context
teug		tug
teuk	tjuk	took
teylor | teylour		tailor
thack	θak	thatch
thack and rape		thatch and rope, the makings of a roof, well being	in context
thae | tha | thai	ðe	those
be thankit		expressing gratitude to whatever preceded 'be'	in context
thatchin		thatching	in context
thair	θer	their
thairm	θerm	small guts, catgut (a fiddle-string)
thairsels	θerˈsɛls	themselves
an aa that		and all that, also summing up a previous phrase
an that		etcetera, and so on	in context
thatwey		in that way, like that
the		used instead of my or your, - the wife, the boss - also can be instead of a, an, to, this - and more…
have you been at the jogging?		have you just been jogging? addressed to a sweaty person in running gear - see at the plooin	in context
keep the heid		keep your head (stay calm and maintain your self control)
the lenth o		as far as
the sel o ye		yourselves
the sel o't		itself, this self of it
the tither	ðəˈtɪðər	this other
the tither hauf		the other half, the wife
the war		there was/were
the wey o't	ðəˈwəioət	as it goes
the'r		there is / are
the-day		today	in context
the-morrow		tomorrow	in context
the-nicht	ðəˈnɪxt	tonight	in context
the-nou	ðəˈnu	just now
the-streen		last evening
theckit		thatched
thee | thei	θi	thigh	in context
theek, thick		to roof, cover with protection (roof), protection in general.	in context
theevle | theevil | theivil | thievil | theevle	ˈθivl	short stick for stirring food in a pot	in context
thegither	tɪˈgɪðər	together	in context
thersells		themselves	in context
thesaurer		treasurer
thiefs | teefs		thieves
thiefie	ðifɪ	sandpiper
thig		beg, cadge
thing | hing | hin		thing
thingmie | thingmy	θɪŋəmɪ	referencing a thing or person that one should be able to name or recall
thir		these, those
thirl	ˈθirl	pierce, bore through, be bound, obligation, bondage	in context
thirsels		themselves
thiswey	ðɪsˈwəi	this way
tho		though, indeed
thocht | thoucht	θoxt	thought	in context
thole		endure, to bear	in context
thon	ðon	that or those over there as opposed to that or those here	in context
thonder | thonner		over there at a greater distance
thoosan		thousand
thorter		across (timber grain), thwart	in context
thou		thou, thee used between equals
thoum | thoom, toom	θum	thumb	in context
thowe	θʌu	thaw
thoweless | thieveless	ˈθʌuləs	listless, lazy, lacking initiative or drive, waster
thrang		throng, busy
thrapple | trapple		throat, the windpipe, throttle	in context
thresch | thruish | tresh | threesh | thrash	θraʃ	thrash the baddie, thresh the corn - there's no distinction in Scotland, thrash them both
thraw	θrɑ	throw, twist, turn, oppose
thrawart	′θrɑwərt	awkward, perverse, cross grained	in context
thrawn	θrɑn	difficult, twisted, crooked, bloody obstinate	in context
threap | threip | threep	θrip	contend, insist
threave | thrave	θriv	a measure of about 24 sheaves (sheaf, sheave, a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping) I stooked them one sunny summer at a convent and I've fed them into a spinning drum standing atop a huge thrasher while still of school age. With nothing between that spinning drum and me except my knees braced on a plank. Happy days.	in context
threeple		three ply, triple
threeplet		a triplet
threid | threed	θrid	thread	in context
threidit		threaded
threttan | thirttan | thirteen		thirteen
thretty | thrittie		thirty
thrid	θrɪd	third
thrissle	ˈθrɪsl	thistle
thrist		thirst, thrust
thristle | throstle		song thrush
throu		through, over, complete
througate	ˈθruˈget	passage way, lane
throuither	ˈθruɪðər	mingled any how, in confusion, mixed up
thrum	ˈθrʌm	strum
thrummle	ˈθrʌml	squeeze, wring, press through a crowd
thummart	ˈθumərt	polecat, ferret - once , cycling to work I saw one louping through the grass, I whistled on it and unbelievably it came over, all white with intense beady red eyes. When I put my hand down to it, it opened its mouth and ran its teeth round my wrist which was a bit scary, I've never seen a rodent open a mouth in as big a gape as that thing did. Obviously tame but I had to leave it, no way to transport it on the bike and anyway the wee buggers can certainly look after themselves, so no worries there	in context
thummle | thimmle	θʌml	thimble
thunner	θʌnər	thunder
thunder plump		sudden intense very heavy soaking downpour of big rain under black clouds and usually short in duration
thunder pump		enormous loud fart
tice | tyce	təis	entice, coax
ticht	tɪxt	tight, firmly fixed, stingy with money	in context
ticket		slovenly dressed, severe beating, a certificate, a ticket
a richt ticket		to be looking a mess
tickler		puzzling item or problem
tid	təid	a favourable time or season, something is ready - to or for - whatever
tidy		shapely, attractive of a person
tift		tiff, quarrel
tig		dally, amorous dealings, meddle, tap, the game of tag
bulldog tig		we had a grass slope at chool that ran down from the tarmac playground a long way to a burn at the bottom. The way we played was the person placed half way down the slope was the 'it' and the rest of the school ran from the top of the slope to the bottom, waited untill all were down then they ran up again. As each player was tigged by an 'it' they increased the number of 'its' until there was only one person running up and down the hill. Two bummers, one was if the first 'it' was useless, the second more enjoyable is when the last runner was so nimble and smart he or she lasted ages before being tigged. A game of strategy agility stamina and speed.
chain tig		when you were tigged you joined the chain until there was only one left to tig trying to avoid a whole playground all holding hands chasing him or her- the trick was to stay away from the ends of the chain - getting dragged along by your sprinting wheeling fellow pupils was good training for the dangerous sport of Scottish Country Dancing
aeroplane tig		if you were tigged by the 'it' you had to freeze in place with your arms stretched out until someone else could run under your arms to free you
high tig		you were safe if off the ground, even jumping counted although a fat lot of good that did as you were tigged when you landed unless the 'it' was sprinting past you when you jumped - best game for squabbles
tillt		to it
timeous		at or here at the proper time
timmer		timber, wood, bashful	in context
timmer breeks		a coffin
timorsome	ˈtɪmərsəm	nervous, timid
tingle	ˈtɪŋl	tinkle, chime
tinker		itinerant pedlar living in a bendie or caravan dealing in small metal
tinnie		a can	in context
tint | tine | taint	tɪnt	indication, prove by jury, suffer the loss, be convicted	in context
a guid name is suiner tint than won		a good name is sooner lost than won, one's reputation is more easily damaged than gained
tippence		two pence
tipper		very well dressed, to totter
tirl		to cause to rotate or spin	in context
tirl		spin, whirl, vibrate, rattle, to strip off, remove, to rattle for entrance, pluck at
tirlie	ˈtɪrlɪ	a thing that curls, twirls or spins, something intricate with spinning parts	in context
tirr		strip, tear off covering, to snarl, heart beat, a thump
tirran	ˈtɪrən	tyrant
tirraneese | tirraneise	ˈtɪrəniz	tyrannise, overwork, harass	in context
tirran like a top		wound oneself up into a total state of exasperation, Diva	in context
tirrivee | tirrivie	ˈtɪrəˈvɪ	rage, tantrum
tishie	ˈtɪʃɪ	tissue (paper)
tit		tug, to tap, a teat
tither	ˈtɪðər	the other (the one of two options)
tittle		gossip
tittle tattler	ˈtɪtlˈtatər	a person actively spreading gossip
tittlin		meadow pippet
toastie		comfortably warm radiance, or ironically - hot as a furnace blast	in context
tocher	toxər	(to give a) dowry (I stayed a while at Kintocher)
tod		fox
toddy	todɪ	twas given to me often as a child at night when ill - whisky with, sugar or honey, and boiled water - served hot - some Scottish pubs I've known would knock one up in the microwave if you're feeling off and in need of one	in context
toman		a little hill, formed by a glacial moraine (or built by the fairies - whichever you prefer)
toom | tume | tome | tim | tuim | tume	tum	empty, vacant, gaunt	in context
toom-heidit	tumˈhidət	vacuous empty headed person
tortie		tortoise
tosh	toʃ	neat, tidy, trim, smart	in context
toss		a toast to good health
tossle | tossel		tassel
tot		the sum total, the whole lot
tot		anything very small, a small child, a dram	in context
tottie		tiny	in context
tottle		toddle
touel | tooel | toul	ˈtuəl	towel	in context
touer | toor	ˈtuər	tower
toun | toon		town, farm steading	in context
tounser	ˈtunsər	a townsperson as opposed to a cheuchter	in context
tourocks		a small tower
tourie | toorie	ˈturɪ	the pom pom on top of a tam-a-shanter, an ornamental top, tuft or hairbun	in context
tousie | toosie	ˈtuzɪ	disordered, dishevelled, tangled	in context
tousled | toosled	ˈtuzld	ruffled hair like you're just dragged out of bed or through a hedge backwards
tout		toot, speaking loudly,
touther | towder	ˈtuðər	handle roughly
tove		rise into air, stream out, talk amiably
tow	tʌu	flax, a rope
towdy	tʌudɪ	the buttocks
towdy mowdy		term of endearment
towmont	ˈtʌumont	a period of twelve months, a year
towt	tʌut	slight illness, huff
toyte		to totter
tozie	tozɪ	flushed with drink
traik | trake		ill, be ailing, decline, wander to and fro, trek
traikle | traicle	ˈtrekl	treacle - and if you've not had a treacle scone you've not lived - flat, inch thick, and trianglar in shape - and to keep me quiet when small on the farm I was given a bit of cow cake (pellet) with treacle on it - both out of the cattle feed drums - and very good it was too.	in context
trail	ˈtrel	tramp, trudge wearisomely falling behind and have to be chided, trailing cloth	in context
traipse	ˈtreps	gad about
traivel	trevəl	travel
trams		cart shafts etc, restrictions
trantle		a set of thirty
trappit		trapped	in context
trashtrie		useless rubbish
trauchle | trauchil | trachle	ˈtrɑxl	spoil by dragging, knocking about, trail through the mud etc. walk slowly and wearily, a struggle, incompetent slow person	in context
treason | traison | treison		treason
tredit		trod
treeple | treiple	ˈtripl	tripple
treesh	ˈtriʃ	cajole
treid | treed		tread
tremmle | trimmle		tremble
trews	trus	tartan trousers of fine close fitting cloth, legs extended to cover the feet, worn by certain Scottish regiments (burly Scots soldiers in tights, who'd have thought)
tricker		trigger
trig		neat, smart, quick, clever	in context
trin'le | trinnle		the wheel of a barrow, trundle
trinklin		trickling
trinnle		trickle
troch	trox	trough
trogger		a pedlar
troggin		wares
troke	trok	barter, trade, business,
trollie-bags		intestines	in context
tron		communal weighing machine that stood in the town market place, town market place where these machines used to be
Troon		a town with a good view of Arran situated on the South Ayrshire coast, oftentimes the host of the open golf championship, and birthplace of Colin Montgomerie the golfer	in context
troosers | trowsers	trusərs	trousers, a complicated item made from a cloth bag with holes joined to two cloth tubes - all to cover the arse and legs - not a kilt	in context
troot	trut	trout	in context
trot		trot
the back door trots		diarrhoea
short in the trot		bad tempered
trottles | troddles		round pellets of crap - sheep mainly
trow	trʌu	troll, a mischievous sprite or fairy, a supernatural being common in Scandinavian mythology	in context
trow | trowl	trʌu	roll down a slope, spin around
trowth | trouth | truith | troth	trʌuθ	truth	in context
truaghan	ˈtruəxən	a destitute
truan | trone | truel	ˈtruəl	trowel
trump		deceive, cheat, a thing of small value	in context
trumpery		trickery	in context
trummle	trʌml	tremble, tremor
tryst	trəist	a mutual pledge, an appointment, a meeting at a place and time, a fair, a cattle-market
trysted-hour		the time to meet fixed in advance
tube, choob	ʧub	a term used as an insult	in context
tuchin	ˈtjuxən	husky cough
tuck | teuk	tjʌk	noises to call hens
tuip | tup | tupe		ram, tup
tuir | ture		tear
tuith	tøθ	tooth	in context
aisle-tuith	əislˈtøθ	a biscupid tooth, a molar	in context
tuith wark		toothache
tulchan	ˈtʌlxən	the calfskin draped over the calf of another presented to the grieving mother to persuade her to give milk, a substitute in general
tulloch	ˈtʌləx	hillock, fairy mound
tulshoch	ˈtʌlʃəx	small bundle
tulyie | tuilyie | tulzie	ˈtøljɪ	brawl, quarrel, fight	in context
tumfie | tumphie		dull stupid person	in context
tummle		tumble	in context
Linn of Tummel		a place where the rivers Garry and Tummel meet where there used to be a waterfall of interest at the spot but no longer alas	in context
tummle the cat		do a somersault, go head over heels
tummock		a small hill, a molehill
tumshie		a turnip, a person lacking intelligence	in context
tumshie-gowk		a scarecrow
tumshie heid		a stupid idiot - insult	in context
turn | tirn		turn, twist or spin
turnpike		a spiked barrier
aff the turn		at rest
tur | turr | truff		turf
tushilaigo | tushilago		coltsfoot
tusk		projecting end stones for bonding with another wall, empty one container into another
twa | twae | tway	twɑ	two	in context
twa'd		it would
twa-three		two or three, a few
twafauld | twafaul		twofold, bent over, folded double
twahandit crack		chat between two good friends
twa hipper skite		a slip or fall that is likely to make two broken hips (in the elderly mainly - often heard exclaimed by ambulance chasers near sheltered housing in icy winters)	in context
nane o the twa		neither
ony o the twa		either
twal | twelf | twel		twelve
the twal o nicht		twelve at night, midnight
twaloors		midday meal (dinner), midday
twalpennie worth		a shilling's worth (English money when it was 12 pennies to the shilling)
twalt | twelft		twelfth
twang	ˈtwaŋ	twinge, sudden sharp pain, stung by snapping elastic
tweed		hard wearing twilled woolen cloth made in the borders - Harris tweed is from the Outer Hebrides
tweedle		twiddle (the fingers)
tweel	twil	twill, also truly! indeed!
tweetle | tweitle		whistle, warble, sing	in context
twice | twise | tweys	twəiz	twice
twig		jerk, twitch, a quick sidelong glance, glimpse
twine		divide, separate into two, go one's own way
twintie | twanty | twonty | twuntie		twenty
twintieth		twentieth
twistle		the action of twisting, wrestle
tyach | tach	tjax	expression of impatience or exasperation
tyauve | chyauve, chauve	tjɑv	knead, struggle, wear out
tye	taɪ	big affirmative, yes certainly (hootaye)
tyce	təis	walk cautiously
tyke | tike	təik	cur, dog, a rough person
tyld	təild	cover with a curtain or blind
tymmer		a percussion instrument, the crest of a helmet
tyne | tyn | tine | teyn	təind	To lose, to suffer the loss, destruction, disappearance, etc. of some attribute or possession, to cease to have or enjoy, to mislay	in context