Scottish Genealogy

Monday 6 August 2012

Old Scots Words: Glashtroch


Rain! image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As there was no word last week (holiday time for me!) then this week we are continuing on to the letter 'G':
 
'Glashtroch'
 
Today's word isn't especially old, indeed the Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL) has just the one occurrence of it listed and this dates from 1825:

'A term expressive of continued rain, and the concomitant dirtiness of the roads'

It comes from the word 'clash' which can be used to mean: 

'any soft or moist substance; anything very wet; a downpour'

looking out of my window as I write this entry, I would certainly say that it is an appropriate word for the Scottish summer this year!