In Scotland, a wirry-cow is a bugbear, goblin, ghost, ghoul or other frightful object. Sometimes the term is used for the Devil or a scarecrow. The word was used by Sir Walter Scott in his novel Guy Mannering. The word is derived by John Jamieson from worry (Modern Scots wirry), in its old sense of harassment in both English and Lowland Scots, from Old English cognate with Dutch and German ; and cowe, a hobgoblin, an object of terror. Wirry appears in several other compound words such as wirry hen, a ruffianly character, a rogue; wirry-boggle, a rogue, a rascal; and wirry-carle, a snarling, ill-natured person, one who is dreaded as a bugbear. References Scottish folklore Scots language Scottish legendary creatures Scottish words and phrases Supernatural legends