‘A bairn… is a youthie body, a lad or lass.’

bairn

This was a fun result I got from Wikipedia the other day. I was watching a TV show set in the north of England, and a character referred to a child as a “bairn.” Since I had thought that word was strictly Scottish, I decided to look it up, and I got the above result.

I had no idea that Wikipedia had pages written in different dialects of English. I love it!

In any case, it answered my question: “Tha term is ailsae uised doon tha northeast coast o Ingland, in Northumberland an tha east o Yorkshire…”

The show I was watching was set in Northumberland.

So there you have it. If ye still dinnae ken what a bairn is, then I cannae help ye…

One thought on “‘A bairn… is a youthie body, a lad or lass.’

  1. Mr. Smith

    I’ve heard the lilting, at the yowe-milking,
    Lasses a-lilting before dawn o’ day;
    But now they are moaning on ilka green loaning;
    “The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away”.

    At e’en, in the gloaming, nae swankies are roaming,
    ‘Bout stacks wi’ the lasses at bogle to play.
    But ilk ane sits drearie, lamenting her dearie,
    The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away.

    Dule and wae for the order sent our lads to the Border;
    The English, for ance, by guile wan the day:
    The Flowers of the Forest, that foucht aye the foremost,
    The prime o’ our land are cauld in the clay.

    We’ll hae nae mair lilting, at the yowe-milking,
    Women and bairns are dowie and wae.
    Sighing and moaning, on ilka green loaning,
    The Flowers of the forest are all wede away.

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