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In Scotland, a wirry-cow [ˈwɪɾɪkʌu, ˈwʌɾɪkʌu] is a bugbear, goblin, ghost, ghoul or other frightful object.^[1] Sometimes the term is used for the Devil or a scarecrow.

Draggled sae 'mang muck and stanes, They looked like wirry-cows
— Allan Ramsay

The word was used by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Guy Mannering.

The word is derived by John Jamieson from worry (Modern Scots wirry^[2]), in its old sense of harassment^[3] in both English^[4] and Lowland Scots,^[5] from Old English wyrgan cognate with Dutch wurgen and German würgen;^[6] and cowe, a hobgoblin, an object of terror.^[7]^[8]

Wirry appears in several other compound words such as wirry hen, a ruffianly character, a rogue;^[9] wirry-boggle, a rogue, a rascal; and wirry-carle, a snarling, ill-natured person, one who is dreaded as a bugbear.^[10]

References

^ SND: worricow Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ The Online Scots Dictionary: wirry
^ Jamieson, John (1808) Jamieson’s Dictionary of the Scottish Language p. 606
^ Online Etymological Dictionary Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
^ DOST: wirry Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ Onions, C.T. (ed.) (1966) The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford, p.1013
^ The Online Scots Dictionary: cowe
^ SND: cowe Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ DOST: wirry hen Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ SND: worry

[1] SND: worricow Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[2] The Online Scots Dictionary: wirry

[3] Jamieson, John (1808) Jamieson’s Dictionary of the Scottish Language p. 606

[4] Online Etymological Dictionary Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[5] DOST: wirry Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[6] Onions, C.T. (ed.) (1966) The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford, p.1013

[7] The Online Scots Dictionary: cowe

[8] SND: cowe Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[9] DOST: wirry hen Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[10] SND: worry

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@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 The word was used by Sir [[Walter Scott]] in his novel ''[[Guy Mannering]]''.
-The word is derived by [[John Jamieson]] from ''worry'' ([[Modern Scots]] ''wirry''<ref>[https://archive.is/20120909120133/http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read.asp?letter=wirry The Online Scots Dictionary: wirry]</ref>), in its old sense of harassment<ref>[[John Jamieson|Jamieson, John]] (1808) [https://books.google.ca/books?id=EXgKAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA4-PA606-IA14#v=onepage&q=wirry&f=false  ''Jamieson’s Dictionary of the Scottish Language'' p. 606]</ref> in both [[English language|English]]<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=worry Online Etymological Dictionary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053955/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=worry |date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref> and [[Scots language|Lowland Scots]],<ref>[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=wirry&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=dboth DOST: wirry] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307094049/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=wirry&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=dboth |date=March 7, 2012 }}</ref> from [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|wyrgan}} cognate with [[Dutch language|Dutch]] {{lang|nl|wurgen}} and [[German language|German]] {{lang|de|würgen}};<ref>Onions, C.T. (ed.) (1966) ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' Oxford, p.1013</ref> and ''cowe'', a hobgoblin, an object of terror.<ref>[http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read_dictionary.asp?letter=cowe The Online Scots Dictionary: cowe]</ref><ref>[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=cowe&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both SND: cowe] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307094107/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=cowe&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both |date=March 7, 2012 }}</ref>
+The word is derived by [[John Jamieson]] from ''worry'' ([[Modern Scots]] ''wirry''<ref>[https://archive.today/20120909120133/http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read.asp?letter=wirry The Online Scots Dictionary: wirry]</ref>), in its old sense of harassment<ref>[[John Jamieson|Jamieson, John]] (1808) [https://books.google.ca/books?id=EXgKAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA4-PA606-IA14#v=onepage&q=wirry&f=false  ''Jamieson’s Dictionary of the Scottish Language'' p. 606]</ref> in both [[English language|English]]<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=worry Online Etymological Dictionary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053955/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=worry |date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref> and [[Scots language|Lowland Scots]],<ref>[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=wirry&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=dboth DOST: wirry] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307094049/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=wirry&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=dboth |date=March 7, 2012 }}</ref> from [[Old English]] {{lang|ang|wyrgan}} cognate with [[Dutch language|Dutch]] {{lang|nl|wurgen}} and [[German language|German]] {{lang|de|würgen}};<ref>Onions, C.T. (ed.) (1966) ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' Oxford, p.1013</ref> and ''cowe'', a hobgoblin, an object of terror.<ref>[http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/read_dictionary.asp?letter=cowe The Online Scots Dictionary: cowe]</ref><ref>[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=cowe&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both SND: cowe] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307094107/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=cowe&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both |date=March 7, 2012 }}</ref>
 ''Wirry'' appears in several other compound words such as ''wirry hen'', a ruffianly character, a rogue;<ref>[http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=422&startset=79559965&query=Wirry_hen&fhit=wirry&dregion=form&dtext=dost#fhit DOST: wirry hen] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307094135/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?plen=422&startset=79559965&query=Wirry_hen&fhit=wirry&dregion=form&dtext=dost#fhit |date=March 7, 2012 }}</ref> ''wirry-boggle'', a rogue, a rascal; and ''wirry-carle'', a snarling, ill-natured person, one who is dreaded as a bugbear.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120307094157/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=worry&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=full&dregion=form&dtext=both SND: worry]</ref>