Etymology: < post-classical Latin Scottus, Scotus (late 4th cent.; from 5th cent. in British sources denoting the inhabitants of Ireland; frequently from 8th cent. in British sources denoting inhabitants of Scotland), of uncertain origin (see below). Compare Old Frisian Skotta , Middle Dutch Schotte , Scot (Dutch Schot ), Middle Low German Schotte , all in sense ‘inhabitant of Scotland’, Old High German Scotton (plural) inhabitants of Ireland or perhaps Scotland (Middle High German Schotte inhabitant of Scotland, inhabitant of Ireland, German Schotte inhabitant of Scotland), Old Icelandic Skotar (plural) inhabitants of Scotland (in one source also ‘inhabitants of Ireland’), Old Swedish skote (Swedish skotte ), Danish skotte (already in early modern Danish); also Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French Escot (c1139), Catalan †Escot (15th cent.), both in sense ‘inhabitant of Scotland’. Compare also Byzantine Greek Σκότοι (4th cent. in an apparently isolated attestation, < Latin). With sense 1 compare later Scotti n. and Dalriadan n.The origin of the post-classical Latin word is uncertain. There is no evidence that it represents the indigenous name of any Irish-speaking people; Early Irish Scot native of Ireland, is probably < Latin; compare also Early Irish Scotraige , the name of a group of people of Ireland (a1406 or earlier in an apparently isolated attestation, perhaps ultimately < Latin). There is no equivalent in the Brittonic languages. Compare the Gaulish personal names Scottos , Scottios , etc. (perhaps derivatives of a word for a cutting tool, perhaps forming names based on a trade < the same Celtic base as Early Irish scothaid cuts, Welsh ysgwthr cut), but the significance of these names is uncertain. For the name of Ireland and its people in Early Irish see discussion at Irish adj. The medieval Irish origin story told in the 11th cent. Lebor Gabála Érenn (‘Book of the Taking of Ireland’) derives Early Irish Scot (and its Latin etymon) from the name of Scota , a mythical princess of the Gaelic-speaking people who were said to have originated in Scythia (see Scythian adj.) and eventually migrated via Spain to Ireland. This is apparently based on two early medieval attempts at an etymology for the ethnonym. The association with Scythia is found earlier in the 9th cent. Historia Brittonum, and also in Bede (8th cent.; but with reference to the Picts, and perhaps confused with Scandinavia). It is later adopted by Scottish historians and appears in medieval documents such as the Declaration of Arbroath (1320, in Latin). Compare quots. ?a1475 and 1577 at Scotti n. and also:OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. i. 28 Peahte ðeod com of Scyððia lande [L. de Scythia] on scipum. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 383 Scottes beeþ i-cleped as it were Scites, for he com out of Scythia [L. Scoti quasi Sciti a Scythia]. Scotland north of the Forth and Clyde was primarily Pictish until the early Middle Ages (compare Pictland n., Pictish n.), but was increasingly settled by Irish-speakers from the west. In the 9th cent., a kingdom was formed comprising both populations, with a form of Early Irish as the language of the court; this kingdom was called by its kings Alba (Scottish Gaelic Alba , now one of the official names for Scotland: see Albanian adj.¹). The name for Ireland in classical Latin is Hibernia ; no single Latin name for all its inhabitants is attested at this period (see discussion at Irish adj.; compare Hibernian adj.). The area inhabited by the Scots (in either sense) is referred to in post-classical Latin as Scotia , denoting Ireland (a636 in Isidore; Hibernia also remains in use) and Scotland (mid or late 7th cent.; < Scotus + -ia -ia suffix¹); compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French Escoce , Escosse (c1174 or earlier in Anglo-Norman; French Écosse ), Catalan Escòcia (15th cent.), Spanish Escocia (13th cent.), Portuguese Escócia , all in sense ‘Scotland’, Italian Scozia Scotland, in early use also ‘Ireland’ (13th cent.). The equivalent name in English is Scotland , denoting both Scotland and in early use also Ireland (see below); compare Old Frisian Skotland Scotland, Middle Low German Schotlant Scotland, Middle Dutch Scotland , Scholland Scotland, occasionally also Ireland (Dutch Schotland Scotland), Middle High German Schotlant Scotland, Ireland (German Schottland Scotland), Old Icelandic Skotland Scotland (in one source also Ireland). Like post-classical Latin Scotia , the English name Scotland is attested earliest (by a narrow margin) as a name for Ireland (which up to the 9th cent. was probably understood to include the areas of Irish settlement in northern Britain). This use of the name is largely discontinued before the end of the Old English period; occasional later examples tend to be based on early medieval models (e.g. quot. ?a1475, which paraphrases the same story told in quot. eOE¹ at sense 1); this parallels the development of sense 1, although the place name is attested in this sense even later than the noun. Compare:OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. i. 19 Igbernia [L. Hibernia], þæt we Scotland hatað [L. a Scotorum gentibus colitur].OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. i. 28 Peahte ðeod com..& þa ymbærndon eall Breotone gemæro, þæt hi comon on Scotland [L. Hiberniam] upp, & þær gemetton Sceotta þeode [L. inuenta ibi gente Scottorum].c1300 St. Bridget (Laud) l. 1 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 192 Seinte Bride of heiȝe men; In scotlond heo cam, Of riche men and of gret power.?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1876) VI. 389 Thre Scottes, Dusblan, Mahbon, Malmunyn..saylede from Scottelande to Cornewaile in vij daies. In similar contexts, Ireland is also sometimes referred to as the land or island of the Scots:OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 16 Jan. 16 Se [sc. Fursey] wæs acenned in Hibernia mægðe, þæt is on Scotta lande.OE Homily: Sunnandæges Spell (Corpus Cambr. 419) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 205 Hit [sc. fyr] gefealð ærest on Sceotta land..and hit þonne færð on Brytwealas.lOE St. Chad (Hatton) (1953) 178 Hio begen ginge on scotta ealonde [eOE Bede's Eccl. Hist.: Tanner in Hibernia Scotta ealonde; L. in Hibernia] syndrig munuclif hæfdon. The emergence of Scotland as the name exclusively denoting a part of northern Britain is probably linked to the consolidation of the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th cent. It seems to be first attested in one manuscript of the 9th-cent. translation of Bede (in another it is also used to denote Ireland: compare quot. OE² above), and becomes more common from the 10th cent. For a more detailed discussion of the change in use of the term in Old English see J. Bately in Anglo-Saxon England 17 (1988) 114–18. The Kingdom of Scotland subsequently expanded south into areas settled by Britons and Anglo-Saxons; it had reached (and partly exceeded) its current southern boundary by the end of the 11th cent. Anglo-Norman and subsequently early Scots became the preferred languages of the court in the 12th and 13th centuries. From 1603, Scotland has shared a monarch with England, with which it was joined in a parliamentary union in 1707, which is the basis of the United Kingdom (see discussion at Britain n.²). Since 1999, Scotland has had a devolved government, while remaining part of the United Kingdom. Compare the following early examples of the name in this sense: eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. v. 110 Monige Bretta ealond, þa seondon geseted betweoh Ibernia, Scotlond [OE Cambr. Univ. Libr. Scotlande] & Breotone [OE Corpus Cambr. betwyh hibernia scotta iglande & brytene; L. inter Hiberniam et Brittaniam sitae].OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 934 Her for Æþelstan cing on Scotland ægþer ge mid landhere ge mid scyphere.a1475 J. Shirley Death James (BL Add. 5467) in Miscellanea Scotica (1818) II. 9 Therto the Kyng..did mak an opyn proclamacion by all the rewme of Scotteland.a1650 Index Buchanan's Index Hist. MS (Edinb. Univ.) Mare Scoticum the firth of Forth the Scotsh sea, so called because it was once the march betuix Scotland and England. In the course of the Middle Ages, the overlap in senses between words for Scotland, Ireland, and their respective early inhabitants led to difficulty for historiographers and eventually to some confusion (e.g. in quot. a1604; in quot. 1930 humorously exploited, mocking popular ignorance of Scottish history in early 20th-cent. England). Compare: ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 385 Out of Irlond, þat is þe propre contray of Scottes [L. Scotorum], come Irische men [L. Hibernienses]..and..made hem..citees besides þe Pictes... Now þe lond is schortliche i-cleped Scotlond, of Scottes þat come out of Irlond [L. corrupte vocatur Scotia a Scotis de Hibernia venientibus].a1604 M. Hanmer Chron. Ireland 22 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) And hereof it commeth to passe, that Ireland is called Scotland, and Scotland Ireland, the Irish Scots, and the Scots Irish, as one hath largely collected.1930 W. C. Sellar & R. J. Yeatman 1066 & All That ii. 5 The Scots (originally Irish, but by now Scotch) were at this time inhabiting Ireland, having driven the Irish (Picts) out of Scotland; while the Picts (originally Scots) were now Irish (living in brackets) and vice versa. Form history. Forms such as Old English (plural) Sceottas , Middle English Schottys show palatalization and assibilation of initial sc- . The failure or reversal of assibilation which is seen in most Middle English forms (and also in modern English) is probably due to influence of the Scandinavian cognates. The assibilated form is occasionally preserved in place names, some of which, however, may reflect the attested use of the word as a male personal name and byname in Old English (e.g. Scot (c1000, name of a moneyer under Æðelred II), Ælfric Scot (c1087), Ægelric Scot (c1087), Sceott (c1130, name of a member of a guild at Exeter), etc.); moreover, in place names the word is sometimes difficult to distinguish from homonymous forms of shot n.¹ and Old English sceota trout (see shoat n.¹); compare the following: Scottarit , Warwickshire (a1050; now Shottery), Scotadun , Northumberland (c1100; now Shotton), and (without assibilation) Scotune , Lincolnshire (1086; now Scotton), Scottune , North Riding, Yorkshire (1086; now Scotton). In early place names, reference may be to Irish rather than Scottish settlers (compare sense 1). The early Scandinavian word rather than the English word is probably reflected in Scoteby, Cumberland (1130; now Scotby).

Etymology: Probably a variant of shot n.¹ (see shot n.¹ IV.), arising from various causes, including influence from its early Scandinavian cognate (see below), influence from borrowings of the English word in Latin and Anglo-Norman (see below), and (especially in later use) revival (especially by historians, from the written record) of Old English or early Middle English forms. Alternatively, some early uses may reflect borrowing either of the early Scandinavian word or of the Latin or Anglo-Norman words. The early Scandinavian cognate of shot n.¹ in this sense is reflected by Old Icelandic skot contribution, Old Swedish skut , skot contribution, kind of tax (Swedish skott ). Compare also (in other Germanic languages) Old Dutch, Middle Dutch scot kind of tax (Dutch schot , now historical), Middle Low German schot contribution to communally-paid expenses, municipal tax, Middle High German schoz municipal tax (especially in Hanseatic towns) (German †Schoss ). Borrowing of shot n.¹ (or of a cognate) is reflected by post-classical Latin scotum, scottum, scotus, scota (frequently from 11th cent. in British sources) and by Anglo-Norman scot, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French escot, payment, contribution (second half of the 12th cent.; French écot ). With scot and lot at sense 2a compare post-classical Latin scotus et lotus , scottus et lottus (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources). Compare scot-ale n., scot-free adj., and also church scot n., Rome-scot n., soul-scot n. With scot and lot at sense 2a compare earlier shot and lot at shot n.¹ 24.Old English forms in sc- are treated at shot n.¹, since palatalization and assibilation would normally be expected in this position, although the Old English spelling system itself usually does not indicate this (however, compare the form (ge)sceot at shot n.¹). It is very uncertain how forms in sc- in early Middle English should be interpreted. The division of material adopted here is based purely on the spelling forms. (Compare also the rare northern Middle English variant scott at shot n.¹ Forms, in a different sense.) In some contexts probably influenced also by the early Scandinavian word reflected by Old Icelandic skattr tribute, tax (see scat n.³). With at (also in) scot and lot (also lot and scot) at Phrases 1 compare post-classical Latin in lotto et scotto, ad lottum et scottum (frequently from 13th cent. in British sources).

Etymology: Origin unknown. Compare later scut n.¹Perhaps related to scuttle v.¹ (although this is first attested later); compare also English regional scut to make short, hurried runs. Compare the discussion in A. Ross Names of Hare in Proc. Leeds Philos. & Lit. Soc. 3 (1932–5 ) 359–60. Alternatively, perhaps compare Icelandic skott fox's tail, specific use of skott , variant of skopt head of hair, cognate with Old High German scuft , Gothic skuft , in the same sense < an ablaut variant of the same Indo-European base as sheaf n.¹ + a dental suffix. With sense 2 perhaps compare Icelandic Skotti, a nickname for a horse whose body and tail are of different colours (either < skott or perhaps a specific use of a word for ‘ghost’; compare skotta female ghost, perhaps < skott, on account of trailing hair).

Etymology: < scot n.² Compare post-classical Latin scotare , escotare to pay tax (from 11th cent. in British sources) and Anglo-Norman escoter , escotter , scotter to take a share in something (end of the 13th cent. in the Anglo-Norman version of Ancrene Riwle as escuter ; compare quot. ?c1225 at sense 1), to pay tax, to levy tax (both c1353). Compare also Middle Dutch schotten to levy tax, Middle Low German schōten , schotten (also schāten ) to pay communal expenses, to pay tax, to levy tax. With to scot and lot, to lot and scot at sense 3 compare post-classical Latin lotare et scotare , scotare et lotare (from 1200 in British sources), and also scot and lot, lot and scot at scot n.² 2a. Compare earlier scat n.¹