In this, and other similar articles, the visitor is introduced to a number of words in Scots related to the concept of death and funerary customs. A brief explanation is given in the equivalent English together with audio files allowing the visitor to hear the pronunciation.

BLISS

The English version of this word is bless, meaning to ‘make holy or sacred’.

DWYNE

In Scots we say that a thing dwynes when it fades or loses its capacity. It is sometimes said of those who are ill, decline and then die that they ‘dwyned awa’. The word is found in both Anglo-Saxon dwinan and Old Norse dvina – ‘to dwindle’.

LIG

The word lig is equivalent to English lie, rest or recline. The words lig, lie and lair are all related.

SAIN

This is the Scots verb equivalent to English ‘bless’ or ‘make sacred’. It is also used as a noun meaning a ‘blessing’ or ‘invocation’. It comes originally from the Anglo-Saxon word segnian and is related to Latin sanctus ‘holy’ or ‘sacred’.

SLIP AWA

This is the Scots equivalent to English ‘die peacefully’.

SLIPPIT AWA

The past tense of ‘slip awa’, or died peacefully.

WIN AWA

In Scots we say that a person ‘wins awa’ when they die after suffering. To ‘win’ in Scots has the root meaning of arriving or reaching a destination or state, and so to ‘win awa’ is to finally achieve (arrive at) escape or release.

WON AWA

The past tense of ‘win awa’, or in English died after suffering.