coorie

English

Etymology

From Scots coor (“cower”) ‎ -ie (frequentative).

Verb

coorie (third-person singular simple present coories, present participle coorying or coorieing, simple past and past participle cooried)

1. (Scotland) To crouch, stoop down.
2. (Scotland) To snuggle, nestle.
   • 1997, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).: House of Commons official report:

     ... or, for that matter, the newly ennobled representatives, many of whom have reached that tenure by coorieing up to the establishment throughout their career. I want to offer the House a flavour of the debate that took place.

   • 2013 June 24, Betsy Whyte, The Yellow on the Broom: The Early Days of a Traveller Woman, Birlinn, →ISBN:

     So we slept, coorieing down into the blankets under the tarpaulin. It was broad daylight when I awoke, and we had pulled in off the road, and were in the midst of woods. Father was giving the pony some hay, but I could see no sign of […]

   • 2018 April 30, Lindsey Gibb, C.A. Hope, Perthshire Folk Tales, The History Press, →ISBN:

     No coorieing up together on cold nights, no playful chases at the end of the working day and certainly no sharing of food. They came to an understanding where they simply pretended the other didn't exist and this seemed to work well, […]

   • 2022 August 1, John Sillars, The McBrides: A Romance of Arran, DigiCat:

     ... were coorieing over the fire telling bawkin stories, and edging closer to the farm lads for comfort when the gale moaned and whined in the wide chimney—as we tramped through, old Betty took Dan by the sleeve.

Noun

coorie (uncountable)

1. (UK) A lifestyle involving hearty cuisine (such as Cullen skink) and invigorating outdoor activities, popularized in the late 2010s by a book and tourism campaign which incorrectly presented it as a traditional Scottish concept. (Compare hygge.)

See also

• còsagach

Scots

Alternative forms

courrie, courie, coory, cwoorie, corrie

Etymology

Diminutive of coor, from Middle English cowre (“to crouch, cower”).

Verb

coorie (third-person singular simple present coories, present participle cooriein, simple past cooried, past participle cooried)

1. to stoop, cringe; (Ulster) to kneel down
   • 1980 [1912], Joseph Laing Waugh, “Robbie Doo at School”, in JK Annand, editor, A Scots Handsel, page 23:

     My father, as I’ve said, was a very tall man. He had to coorie doon gaun through the lobby, and when he was in the schuleroom, staunin’ afore Miss Macdonald, the croon o’ his heid, I noticed, was amaist scrievin’ the ceilin’.

     My father, as I’ve said, was a very tall man. He had to stoop down going through the entryway, and when he was in the classroom, standing before Miss Macdonald, the top of his head, I noticed, was nearly scraping the ceiling.

2. to snuggle, nestle
   • 2011, Wulf Kurtoglu [Caroline Macafee], Braken Fences, page 177:

     Efter the first nicht in her wee tent pod, tryin tae git some waarmth fae the yaks, she abandont aa modesty an slep in the communal tent wi the men, kennin fu weill whit they were daein, cooriein up agin her whan they thocht she wis sleepin.

     After the first night in her small tent, trying to get some warmth from the yaks, she abandoned all modesty and slept in the communal tent with the men, knowing full well what they were doing, cuddling against her when they thought that she was sleeping.