"Hies" comes from the Scots and older English verb "hie," meaning to speed or rush. Elliot uses it in the line "Ilk ane lifts her leglin and hies her away," where the women hurry off, unable to bear the painful associations of the empty bughts. The word's brevity and sharp vowel convey urgency and discomfort. In poetry, "hies" often appears in narrative passages to accelerate rhythm, and here it breaks the poem's otherwise slow, mournful pace, mirroring the women's flight from sorrow. Its use shows how grief alters behaviour—even the ordinary act of carrying milk becomes a desperate escape.

"Hies" is the third-person singular present of the Scots verb "hie," meaning to hurry, speed, or move quickly, and it appears in poetry to convey urgency, escape, or eager movement. The word's sharp, clipped vowel and single syllable give it a percussive quality that can accelerate the rhythm of a line. In Elliot's "A Lament for Flodden," "Ilk ane lifts her leglin and hies her away" describes the women's pained, hurried departure from the empty sheepfolds, using "hies" to show how grief makes even routine actions feel like a desperate flight. The verb derives from the Old English "hīgian" and appears in older Scots and English verse, often in imperatives like "Hie thee!" which carry an urgency that simpler verbs like "go" or "move" cannot match. For students, understanding "hies" involves appreciating how poets use specific verbs to control pace and mood; the sudden appearance of "hies" breaks the poem's slow, mournful rhythm, mirroring the women's abrupt need to escape. In teaching, contrasting "hies" with synonyms like "moves," "goes," or "departs" reveals how Scots vocabulary often offers sharper, more concrete alternatives to standard English. The word's archaic flavour lends a dignified, slightly formal quality to verse, making it suitable for both narrative and lyric poetry.