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Guid

Dialect
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Good; the Scots form of "good," carrying warm approval and moral affirmation.

Detailed Definition
"Guid" is a cornerstone of Scots vocabulary, appearing in moral, social, and affectionate contexts throughout the literary tradition. Burns's "A Man's a Man for a' That" uses related forms to assert the worth of honest labour, and "guid" permeates Scottish song and verse as a marker of genuine value. Its vowel distinguishes it clearly from English "good," and in poetry it carries the particular warmth of a word that has been used with meaning across centuries of Scots expression.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Guid" means good; Burns writes "Auld lang syne" and "And there's a hand, my trusty fiere, / And gie's a hand o' thine, / And we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet, / For auld lang syne"; also "For honest men and bonnie lasses" shows his use of "guid"; A poet might write: "A guid word spoken in time / is worth far more than silver or rhyme." praises timely kindness; "She was a guid and steady soul / who kept her neighbours' spirits whole." characterises reliable goodness; "Guid kail and honest company — / is all the luxury I need." expresses simple contentment; "Guid nicht, the stars are hame and bright — / we'll rest ourselves till morning light." closes a day gently; "For guid or ill the deed is done — / the consequence already spun." uses the word philosophically
Additional Notes
Guid is the Scots form of "good" and carries in Scots verse a moral and social weight that its brevity barely suggests. The "guid folk" are the respectable community; "guid" used ironically in Burns's "Address to the Unco Guid" becomes a devastating critique of self-righteous virtue. "Guidman" and "guidwife" are the master and mistress of a household — terms of social dignity. The word's range from simple approval to complex irony makes it one of the most important adjectives in Scots verse. Students should always ask whether "guid" in a given poem is being used sincerely or ironically, since Burns and later poets deploy both registers with great skill.
Also Known As
Good Virtuous Proper
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