ourie
Americanadjective
-
shabby; dingy.
-
melancholy; languid.
Etymology
Origin of ourie
1275–1325; Middle English (north) ouri, perhaps < Old Norse ōra rage, oerr mad
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Her bark’s waur than her bite,” said Mrs. Craig, as she returned to her husband, who felt already some of the ourie symptoms of a henpecked destiny.
From The Ayrshire Legatees, or, the Pringle family by Galt, John
I thought me on the ourie cattle, Or silly sheep, wha bide this brattle O' wintry war, Or thro' the drift, deep-lairing sprattle, Beneath a scaur.
From A Year in the Fields by Burroughs, John
“I thought me on the ourie cattle, Or silly sheep, wha bide this brattle O’ wintry war; Or thro’ the drift, deep-lairing, sprattle, Beneath a scaur.
From Life of Robert Burns by Carlyle, Thomas
"They think upon the ourie cattle And silly sheep," and man's reason goes to the help of brute instinct.
From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2) by Wilson, John Lyde
List'ning the doors an' winnocks rattle; I think me on the ourie cattle, Or silly sheep, wha bide this brattle O' winter war, And thro' the drift, deep-lairing sprattle, Beneath a scaur!
From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2) by Wilson, John Lyde
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
