Scotch is an adjective in English, meaning "of or from Scotland". Many Scots dislike the term Scotch and some consider it offensive. The modern usage in Scotland is Scottish or Scots, and the word Scotch is now only applied to specific products, mostly food or drink, such as Scotch whisky, Scotch pie and Scotch broth. The verb to scotch is unrelated to the adjective. Middle English scocchen derives from Anglo-French escocher meaning "to notch, nick or pierce", from coche, "a notch, groove". Usage The adjective or noun Scotch is an early modern English (16th century) contraction of the English word Scottish which was later adopted into the Scots language It more or less replaced Scottish as the prevailing term in England in the 17th century. The English playwright William Shakespeare used the word Scotch to describe a jig, but always employed the term Scottish when people were the subject. Scots (the modern Scots language form of early Scots Scottis) predominated in Scotland until the 18th century when anglicisation became fashionable and Scotch came to be used in both England and Scotland. A 1788 letter by Robert Burns says in part: "Apropos, is not the Scotch phrase Auld lang syne exceedingly expressive? There is an old song and tune which has often thrilled through my soul. You know I am an enthusiast in old Scotch songs." ("Auld Lang Syne" in The Burns Encyclopedia, at robertburns.org). Burns wrote of himself in 1787, "The appellation of a Scotch Bard, is by far my highest pride; to continue to deserve it is my most exalted ambition." From the early 19th century, however, Scots or Scottish increasingly became the preferred usages among educated Scottish people, Scotch being regarded as an anglicised affectation. By 1908, this was described by The New York Times as a "long-established… preference" (see article). In modern usage in Scotland, "Scotch" is rarely used, other than as described in the following paragraph for certain articles; it has gathered patronising and faintly offensive connotations ("frugal with one's money"). In modern current British usage, in England as in Scotland, the general term for things from or pertaining to Scotland is Scottish. Scots is used for the Scots language and Scots law, although one increasingly hears it used of people and organisations, especially in newspaper articles. Scotch remains in use in only a few specific cases. 'Scotch terrier' was once one of these legacy uses,