Cuttie-stool
Encyclopedia
A cuttie-stool, or cutty-stool (also -stuil), was a type of three-legged chair used in Scotland
. It was a short stool
, often having a round seat on the top, but the word also designates a larger piece of furniture associated with public penance in church.
Such stools were often used for milking
and domestic purposes, and afforded little comfort other than to provide balance to the worker concerned. They were cheap to buy and easy to make, and their three legs made them stable on uneven floors. "Cutty" or "cuttie", in Lowland Scots
, is an adjective meaning "short" (also a fish gutting knife) and can be found in phrases such as Cutty-sark
(the nickname of the witch in Tam o' Shanter
, derived from her only garment, a short shift).
Dean Ramsay (1793–1872) says:
He adds:
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was a short stool
Stool (chair)
A stool is one of the earliest forms of seat furniture. It consists of a single seat, without back or arms rests, on a base of either three or four legs. A stool is distinguished from chairs by their lack of arms and a back...
, often having a round seat on the top, but the word also designates a larger piece of furniture associated with public penance in church.
Such stools were often used for milking
Milking
Milking is the act of removing milk from the mammary glands of an animal, typically cows , water buffalo, goats, sheep and more rarely camels, horses and donkeys. Milking may be done by hand or by machine.-Hand milking:...
and domestic purposes, and afforded little comfort other than to provide balance to the worker concerned. They were cheap to buy and easy to make, and their three legs made them stable on uneven floors. "Cutty" or "cuttie", in Lowland Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
, is an adjective meaning "short" (also a fish gutting knife) and can be found in phrases such as Cutty-sark
Cutty-sark
"Cutty sark" is 18th century Scots for "short chemise" or "short undergarment".Hyphenated, Cutty-sark was a nickname given to the witch Nannie Dee, a fictional character created by Robert Burns in his Tam o' Shanter, after the garment she wore...
(the nickname of the witch in Tam o' Shanter
Tam o' Shanter (Burns poem)
"Tam o' Shanter" is a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1790. Many consider it to be one of the best examples of the narrative poem in modern European literature....
, derived from her only garment, a short shift).
Dean Ramsay (1793–1872) says:
- "A circumstance connected with Scottish church discipline has undergone a great change in my time - I mean the public censure from the pulpit of persons convicted of a breach of the seventh commandmentTen CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
... this was performed by the guilty person standing on a raised platform called the cutty-stool"
He adds:
- "The culprits did not always take the admonition patiently. It is recorded of one of them in AyrshireAyrshireAyrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, that when accused of adulteryAdulteryAdultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
by the minister, he interrupted and corrected his reverend monitor by denying the imputation, and calling out, 'Na! Na! Minister; it was simple fornie (fornicationFornicationFornication typically refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. For many people, the term carries a moral or religious association, but the significance of sexual acts to which the term is applied varies between religions, societies and cultures. The...
) and no adultery ava.'"