In the past, we have asked our Scotsman readers for their favourite Scottish words (and sayings) and in doing so revealed a wealth of rich Scottish vocabulary including Scots words with totally different meanings in English and (naturally) weather terms e.g., “dreich”.
From Scottish Gaelic to Scots Leid and its dialects such as Doric, Scotland has a rich linguistic heritage which endures to this day. For example, you can find Gaelic phrases in the hit TV show Outlander and Scots Leid expressions too.
Meanwhile, it is well known that there are many mispronounced Scottish place names because these locations still have motifs of our heritage languages. So, all of this to say that Scotland provides a rich landscape for languages and that extends to our descriptions of human anatomy.
If terms like “cranniewanny”, “geggie” or “queets” are lost on you then continue reading for twenty-one Scottish words for body parts.
9. Plook
The Scots Language Centre tells us that a plook is a “pimple, boil or a swelling”. It is thought to come from the Middle English “plouke” which also refers to a pustule. It also seems like onomatopoeia for the noise produced when you pop one (too far?) Photo: RossHelen on Canva Pro
10. Queets
To impress Scots speakers with your vocabulary you can use this word to identify an ankle. It is said to belong to the Doric dialect of Scots which is popular in northeastern Scotland. Photo: tommaso79 on Canva Pro
11. Shooder
Another word which closely resembles its English equivalent; shoulder. You could use it in a sentence like “quit hinging o’er my shooder” (stop hanging over my shoulder!) Photo: Scott Webb on Canva Pro
12. Haun
Also spelt like “haund” in some cases the word (unsurprisingly) denotes a hand. You may hear it used in Scotland like “geeza haun” which means “give us a hand!” Photo: wildpixel on Canva Pro