gaberlunzie

English

Alternative forms

• gaberlunyie

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots gaberlunzie, of unknown origin.

Noun

gaberlunzie (plural gaberlunzies)

1. (Scotland, historical) A licensed beggar.
   • 1824, Sir Walter Scott, Redgauntlet‎^[1], Letter XI:

     Better say naething about the laird, my man, and tell me instead, what sort of a chap ye are that are sae ready to cleik in with an auld gaberlunzie fiddler?

   • 1843, James Ballantine, The Gaberlunzie's Wallet, page 68:

     Blythe be the auld Gaberlunzie man
     Wi' his wallet o' wit, he fills a' the lan';
     Wi' his blinks o' fun, and his blauds o' lear,
     O' a'thing that's gude he has walth to spare;

   • c. 1894, Kirkwood Hewat, A Little Scottish World: As Revealed in the Annals of an Ancient Ayrshire Parish, Kilmarnock: D. Brown, page 110:

     It is true mendicancy was limited by Act of Parliament, Kirk-Sessions also restricting it and giving badges to the gaberlunzies within their bounds; but it must have been very difficult to keep them within parochial limits.

2. (Scotland, historical) A pouch carried by a strolling beggar.