LINDA Kennedy’s search for the root of the Scots word “footer (“The world is hoaching with misconceptions”, The Herald, June 12) took a wrong turning when she was guided to a definition which declares it to be the designation for the bottom of a page in HTML code for webpages.
In fact, “to footer” in Scots means to fidget or fumble and the noun – as in "ach, he’s an auld footer” – designates someone who is a nuisance or exasperating.
The term “footer”, however, is a legacy from the Auld Alliance and was once considered to be a term of gross abuse or contempt. It has its roots in a robust French word which exists to this day. The French equivalent also begins with an “f” and is the equivalent of an English taboo word with the same initial letter.
Armed with that information, Ms Kennedy should not have to footer aboot for too long on Google to identify the French word and all its conjugations.
Roderick Forsyth,
35 Saltoun Street, Glasgow.
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