▪ I. merse, n. Sc.
(mɛrs)
[Sc. repr. OE. męrsc, marsh1.]
Low flat land, usually beside a river or the sea; marsh. Also attrib.
The Merse is used as the proper name of the district of Berwickshire between the Lammermoors and the Tweed.
| a 1810 in Cromek Rem. Nithsdale Song 234 There's a maid has sat o' the green merse side Thae ten lang years and mair. 1856 Aird Poet. Wks. 188 Go the rooks Down to the sea..on the flat merse To tear up tufts of grass for grubs below. a 1856 in G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 105 A Merse mist alang the Tweed In a harvest mornin's gude indeed. 1869 P. Landreth Life Adam Thomson I. 5 A bloody skirmish between Merse-men and Northumbrians. 1875 W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 78 A little bit of merse-land, detached by the windings of the River Luce, is called St. Helen's Island. |
▪ II. merse, mersement
see merce, mercement.