airt

[airt; Scot. eyrt]Chiefly Scot.

noun

a direction.

verb (used with object)

to point out the way; direct; guide.

Also airth [airth; Scot. eyrth] /ɛərθ; Scot. eɪrθ/.

Origin of airt

1400–50; late Middle English (Scots) a(i)rt < Scots Gaelic àird point, quarter of the compass; cognate with Greek árdis arrowhead. The borrowing of Scots airt from Scots Gaelic àird is exact since Scots Gaelic d is totally voiceless and àird sounds like English arch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for airt

Historical Examples of airt

There's a gude and a bad side to everything; a' the airt is to find it out.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop
It used to come our airt, but we seem to have lost the knack o't!
The House with the Green Shutters
George Douglas Brown
We know not in what airt to look for him, for who knows but it may now be afternoon?
Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2)
John Wilson
I telt ye the wind was shiftin' its airt, an' that ye wad ha'e a bla' doon.
Betty Grier
Joseph Waugh
But in what direction shall we go, callants—towards what airt shall we turn our faces?
Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2)
John Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for airt

airt

airth (ɛəθ, Scottish erθ)

noun

Scot a direction or point of the compass, esp the direction of the wind; quarter; region

Word Origin for airt

C14: from Scots Gaelic aird point of the compass, height

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012