Scot, Scotch, Scots, or Scottish?
All these words make a direct connection to Scotland, but they are used in different ways. Scottish is the most generally used adjective to describe the country and people of Scotland (Scottish history; a Scottish poet; Scottish Gaelic; a Scottish accent), whereas Scots is particularly applied to people from the Lowlands or to a language related to English spoken there (the Scots Guards; a Scots speaker). A Scot is a person who comes from Scotland or who has Scottish ancestry; more specific words are Scotsman and Scotswoman. Scotch as an adjective is a literary word more closely associated with the writings of Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott and has fallen out of general use, usually being considered offensive except in fixed expressions such as Scotch-Irish, Scotch pine, and Scotch mist.
|
