English words from Scots
5 English words with Scots in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
bunker
It is borrowed from Scots bonker (“a chest or box, often serving as a seat”), a word recorded from the 16th century as boncure and in other spellings. Its further origin is uncertain. Barnhart…
dirk
It is from Scots durk, the usual early spelling, also dowrk, and is of unknown origin. The OED suggests, while noting that the sounds are hard to explain, German Dolch (“dagger”), early modern Dutch…
flat
1. The level is inherited from Middle English flat, borrowed from Old Norse flatr (“flat”), from Proto-Germanic *flataz, which is also the source of Old Saxon flat “flat, shallow” and Old High…
glamour
First recorded in 1715, borrowed from Scots glamour (“magic, enchantment”), an alteration of grammar in its old sense of learning, especially occult learning, from the popular association of…
links
It is inherited from Scots links (“sandy, rolling ground near the seashore”), inherited from Old English hlincas, plural of hlinc (“rising ground, ridge, bank”), perhaps from the same Germanic root…