''Bairn'' is a Northern England English,

Scottish English Scottish English is the set of varieties of the English language spoken in Scotland. The transregional, standardised variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English (SSE). Scottish Standard English may be defined ...

and Scots term for a

child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

. It originated in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

as "", becoming restricted to Scotland and the North of England . In Hull the ''r'' is dropped and the word ''Bain'' is used. The word was included in the English Dialect Dictionary with variant spellings ''barn, bayn, bayne'' that reflect varying pronunciations. Compare with the Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese and Danish word for child "barn" or the West-Frisian "bern". Also the Latvian "bērns". Cain bairns are children seized by witches and warlocks as tribute for the devil.

Examples of use

Examples of the term's use include the phrase " Jock Tamson's Bairns" as an idiomatic expression of egalitarian sentiment and the title of the 19th century

Geordie Geordie ( ), sometimes known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English, is an English dialect and accent spoken in the Tyneside area of North East England. It developed as a variety of the old Northumbrian dialect and became espe ...

folk song " Come Geordie ha'd the bairn." " Baloo Baleerie", a traditional Scottish

lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

, incorporates the term repeatedly, as does " The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry", a traditional folk song from

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

References

{{reflist Childhood English dialect words Scottish words and phrases