Scots has 421 words for snow

‘Dreich’ is the braw Scots word that rains supreme

AS a nation always keen to look on the bright side, it’s a surprise that “dreich” has been named the “most iconic” Scots word. Used to describe the Scottish weather, it means dull or gloomy and topped a poll to mark Book Week Scotland, led by the Scottish Book Trust.

“It’s said that the Inuits have the most words in their language to describe snow. In fact, this is a myth. Inuit, Yupik and related peoples have 50 words for snow. But other tongues have more. For example, the Sami, who live in the far north of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, have a 180. But the winner by an avalanche for the title of lingo-with-the-most-words-for-snow is … drum roll … Scots. According to researchers at the University of Glasgow, Scots has 421 words for snow”.

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