birkie

[ bur-kee; Scots bir-kee ]

nounScot.
  1. an aggressive, independent man.

Origin of birkie

1
First recorded in 1715–25; of uncertain origin

Words Nearby birkie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use birkie in a sentence

  • But the truth is, that the friar was the greatest man o' the twa; and that auld birkie was right sair cowed in his presence.

  • The young birkie had neither hat nor shoon, but he did not spare the stick; round and round they flew like mad.

    The Life of Mansie Wauch | David Macbeth Moir
  • It wad be better telling ye to answer ceevilly a ceevil question, my birkie.

    A Daughter of Raasay | William MacLeod Raine
  • The birkie doesna stand in need o' cash; for he gies saxpence to this ane, and a shillin to the tither ane, for gangin errans.

  • She was nine-and-twenty, and a birkie woman of nine-and-twenty can make a good husband out of very unpromising material.

    The House with the Green Shutters | George Douglas Brown

British Dictionary definitions for birkie

birkie

/ (ˈbɪrkɪ) /


nounScot
  1. a spirited or lively person

  2. a foolish posturer

Origin of birkie

1
C18: perhaps related to Old English beorcan to bark; compare Old Norse berkia

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012