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In Scotland, a wirry-cowe was a bugbear, goblin, ghost, ghoul or other frightful object.〔(SND: worricow )〕 Sometimes the term was used for the Devil or a scarecrow. The word was used by Sir Walter Scott in his novel ''Guy Mannering''. The word is derived by John Jamieson from ''worry'' (Modern Scots ''wirry''〔(The Online Scots Dictionary: wirry )〕), in its old sense of harassment〔Jamieson, John (1808) ( ''Jamieson’s Dictionary of the Scottish Language'' p. 620 )〕 in both English〔(Online Etymological Dictionary )〕 and Lowland Scots,〔(DOST: wirry )〕 from Old English ''wyrgan'' cognate with Dutch ''wurgen'' and German ''würgen'';〔Onions, C.T. (ed.) (1966) ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' Oxford, p.1013〕 and ''cowe'', a hobgoblin, an object of terror.〔(The Online Scots Dictionary: cowe )〕〔(SND: cowe )〕 ''Wirry'' appears in several other compound words such as ''wirry hen'', a ruffianly character, a rogue;〔(DOST: wirry hen )〕 ''wirry-boggle'', a rogue, a rascal; and ''wirry-carle'', a snarling, ill-natured person, one who is dreaded as a bugbear.〔(SND: worry )〕 ==References== 〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wirry-cow」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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