It perfectly captures the kind of overcast conditions usually found across the country.
But now, things are looking sunny for the word ‘dreich’ after hundreds of people voted it as their favourite Scottish word.
The adjective - defined as “long-drawn-out, protracted, hence tedious, wearisome; damp, wet, grey weather”- beat competition from terms like ‘braw,’ ‘glakit’ and ‘scunnered’ to top the poll by the Scottish Book Trust ahead of Book Week.
READ MORE: New Gaelic dictionary launched to preserve the language
Almost 1,900 people took part in the vote, with 259 backing dreich - a term first thought to have been used in the 15th century.
Youse nominated the brawest Scots words. Youse voted fir yer favourites. And noo, it's time tae reveal the MOST ICONIC SCOTS WORD, fir #BookWeekScotland.
— Book Week Scotland (@BookWeekScot) November 20, 2019
🥁Drum roll please....🥁
It's, erm, DREICH. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/EtWnh5wkCA
Glakit finished second with 225, while scunnered was third on 199.
Words including ‘shoogle,’ ‘wheesht,’ ‘fankle,’ ‘braw’ and ‘beastie’ were also included in the top ten.
Scottish Book Trust chief executive Marc Lambert said: “We were overwhelmed by the many submissions for our iconic Scots words vote – it’s certainly a subject close to people’s hearts.”
“Dreich is such an evocative word with the ability to sum up the Scottish weather – or mood – perfectly. It’s also a word that is very well used here in Scotland and beyond.
“It’s fantastic to see the vibrant conversation around Scots language as we celebrate Book Week Scotland.”
READ MORE: Scots language 'helps pupils in English exams'
The word also came out on top of a 2013 YouGov poll of top Scottish phrases.
Rhona Alcorn, CEO of the Scots Language Dictionary, said: "Once again, dreich has been chosen as the most iconic Scots word, with glaikit taking the silver medal.”
"Dreich has been part of the core vocabulary of Scots for hundreds of years so it is especially fitting that one of its primary meanings is 'enduring, persistent'."
The top ten Scottish words:
Dreich - tedious; damp and wet
glaikit - stupid or foolish
scunnered - disgust or strong dislike
shoogle - shake or move from side to side
wheesht - call for quiet or silence
fankle - to tangle or mix-up
outwith - outside or beyond
braw - fine or pleasant
beastie - an insect or animal
bumfle - an untidy bundle
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