Other "gruntle"s

[Aaron E. Drews]

On Wed, 2 Feb 2000, James Smith wrote:

}From:
}Etext of "Poems And Songs Of Robert Burns
}by Robert Burns" (1759 to 1796)
}(downloaded from Lycos.com)
}
}>From the Glossary
}...
}Gruntle, the face.

The Scottish National Dictionary has the first definition as the snout of
a pig, and the second definition as the "snout" of a human, not used in a
flattering manner. "Pus" (rhyming with "thus" not "wuss") is a Scots
synonym.  (Second poem)

}Gruntle, dim. of grunt.

Second definition is along these lines.  A kind of a moaning, gurgling
grunt, usually produced by babies, bairns, and wains.  "Gurn" is another
Scots synonym (more methatesis of /r/???) along with "grane" (groan)(first
poem)

I see some sort of semantic drift here.

Either of these definitions in use in the South or South-Midlands?   I
don't have DARE handy.

---- Aaron


}...
}
}>From "Halloween"
}
}He wistl'd up Lord Lennox' March
}To keep his courage cherry;
}Altho' his hair began to arch,
}He was sae fley'd an' eerie:
}Till presently he hears a squeak,
}An' then a grane an' gruntle;
}He by his shouther gae a keek,
}An' tumbled wi' a wintle
}Out-owre that night.
}
}>From "Scotch Drink"
}
}May gravels round his blather wrench,
}An' gouts torment him, inch by inch,
}What twists his gruntle wi' a glunch
}O' sour disdain,
}Out owre a glass o' whisky-punch
}Wi' honest men!
}
}JIM
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________________________________________________________________________
Aaron E. Drews                               The University of Edinburgh
aaron at ling.ed.ac.uk                  Departments of English Language and
http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/~aaron       Theoretical & Applied  Linguistics

"MERE ACCUMULATION OF OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE IS NOT PROOF"
        --Death