The National Trust for Scotland has highlighted six Scots words that capture the essence of October, from the weather to Halloween traditions. The charity shared the list in a social media post, aiming to keep lesser-known Scots words alive.
The words include coorie (to nestle or snuggle), gloaming (twilight or dusk), dreich (damp, grey, miserable weather), splorroch (the squelching sound of walking in water or mud), guising (the Scottish practice of dressing up and going house to house at Halloween), and dook (to immerse in water, as in 'dookin' for apples').
Public Reactions to the Words
Viewers responded to the list with a mix of recognition and surprise. One person wrote: "We always went Guising as kids, a big black bin bag full of monkey nuts at the end of the night." Another noted a regional variation: "In the west coast we tend to use Galoshans but Guising is also good."
Several Scots praised dreich, with one calling it "one of the best Scots words ever" and another adding: "Dreich is a wonderful word I still use today." One user joked that "Dreich can apply to every month," to which the charity replied: "It can! Definitely a common word due to our Scottish weather."
Other Suggested Words
Some users were unfamiliar with splorroch. One commented: "I immediately thought of 'dreich', however 'splorroch' is completely new to me." Another added: "Never heard splorroch in my puff," while someone else said: "Never heard Splorroch...we just say SQUELCH."
Other Scots offered additional words for October, including drookit (drenched or soaked) and baltic (extremely cold or freezing).
