SUSAN TIPPETT BRAITHWAITE

Welcome to day fourteen of Things in Scots!—a fun collaboration with my husband, Jez (Mind an gie Jez’s post a keek.)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I sometimes have trouble remembering/even knowing that a word isn’t actually English. That was the case with today’s word, and I’m going to share it with you because it’s one of the most useful words in the Scots Leid.

Today’s Things in Scots is: Outwith.

According to the Dictionar o the Scots Leid, outwith (also ootwith, ootwi) has been in use since at least c1230. As a preposition, outwith means outside, out of, beyond. As an adverb, it means outside, outdoors, outwards. The adjective form means outward, outermost, outlying. As a noun, it means the external world, the area beyond someone’s own. And finally, as a verb, outwith means to go beyond, to exceed, to overreach.

Here’s an example of outwith in use:

Ye hae tae gie thaim a ring outwith office hoors.

In Inglis: You have to call them outside of office hours.

If you want to ken the Scots for anything, just ask in the comments section.

Thenks fur stoapin by, and hae a wunnerfu day.

Things in Scots — Post History

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