▪ I. creesh, creish, n. Sc.
(kriːʃ)
6 creische, cresche, 7–9 creish, 8 creisch, kreish, 9 creesh, cresh.
[a. OF. craisse, cresse = graisse, gresse fat, grease:—L. crassa, fem. of crassus thick, fat, gross, in late L. also grassus (see Du Cange). In Gael. créis (kreːʃ), s with a ‘small’ vowel being always (ʃ); several instances of a similar change occur in Lowland Sc.; cf. also gresche = grease.]
1. Grease, fat.
| a 1400 Burgh Lawis lxviii, Woll, nowte cresche or swyne sayme. 1500–20 Dunbar Dance Sevin Synnis 99 In creische that did incress. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. xi. 61 Fat cresche or same. 1862 A. Hislop Proverbs Scot. 41 Butter's king o' a' creesh. |
2. A ‘lick’, a stroke. Cf. anoint v. 5.
| a 1774 Fergusson Poems (1789) II. 93 (Jam.) Now some for this, wi' satire's leesh, Has gi'en auld Edinbrough a creesh. 1833 Moir Mansie Wauch xxii. (1849) 172 Give the beast a good creish. |
▪ II. creesh, v. Sc.
(kriːʃ)
Forms: see prec.
[f. creesh n.; cf. F. graisser.]
trans. To grease. to creesh the loof (fig.): ‘to grease the palm’, i.e. with a douceur. Cf. to grease (a person) in the hand (see grease v.).
| 1721 Kelly Scot. Prov. 237 (Jam.) Like the Orkney butter, neither good to eat, nor to creisch wool. a 1774 Fergusson Hallowfair Poems (1845) 13 He'll take the hint and creish her loof Wi' what will buy her fairin. 1816 Scott Antiq. x, ‘Would ye creesh his bonny brown hair wi' your nasty ulyie?’ 1843 A. Bethune Sc. Fireside Stor. 48 If he was only able to creish the clerk's loof. |