The Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) tell us that broukit means “soiled with soot or streaked with dirt”. Nineteenth-century examples show that the term was often used to describe children.

Irene Watt would like to acknowledge the collaboration of Alistair Heather of The Elphinstone Institute in the writing of this article. The Scots spoken in Outlander may not be the language spoken ...