adj. & n.
adj. var. of SCOTTISH or SCOTS.
n. 1 var. of SCOTTISH or SCOTS. 2 Scotch whisky. Scotch broth a soup made from beef or mutton with pearl barley etc. Scotch cap = BONNET n. 1b. Scotch catch Mus. a short note on the beat followed by a long one. Scotch egg a hard-boiled egg enclosed in sausage meat and fried. Scotch fir (or pine) a pine tree, Pinus sylvestris, native to Europe and Asia. Scotch kale a variety of kale with purplish leaves. Scotch mist 1 a thick drizzly mist common in the Highlands. 2 a retort made to a person implying that he or she has imagined or failed to understand something. Scotch pebble agate, jasper, cairngorm, etc., found in Scotland. Scotch pine = Scotch fir. Scotch snap = Scotch catch. Scotch terrier 1 a small terrier of a rough-haired short-legged breed. 2 this breed. Scotch whisky whisky distilled in Scotland, esp. from malted barley. ° Scots or Scottish is generally preferred in Scotland, except in the special compounds given above.
[ contr. of SCOTTISH ]