Cain bairns
Cain bairns or kain bairns were infants who, according to Scottish superstition, were seized by warlocks and witches, and paid as a tax or tithe to the Devil.[1][2][3] Càin is a Gaelic word for a tribute, tax or tithe, and is the origin of the Lowland Scots term "kane",[4] while "bairn" means a child.[5]
The word was in use along the Scottish Borders, according to Walter Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.[1]
It is unconnected with Cain in the Bible.
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Mackay, Charles (25 June 1888). "A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch: With an Introductory Chapter on the Poetry, Humour, and Literary History of the Scottish Language and an Appendix of Scottish Proverbs". Ticknor – via Google Books.
- ^ Warrack, Alexander (1911). A Scot's Dialect Dictionary. ISBN 978-1902407098.
- ^ Murray, John (1874). The Ballads and Songs of Scotland. Macmillan and Company. ISBN 9780999255889.
- ^ "Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: kane". Dictionaries of the Scots Language. 2004. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018.
- ^ "Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: bairn". Dictionaries of the Scots Language. Archived from the original on 5 April 2015.
References
[edit]- MacKay, Charles (1888). A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch. Ticknor.
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