Crivvens

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. A Scottish exclamation of surprise, astonishment or mild alarm, used much like goodness or heavens
2. An informal Scottish cry expressing amazement or shock at something unexpected that has just happened
3. A mild exclamation of astonishment common in Scottish speech, often used for comic effect in fiction

Etymology: "Crivvens" is a Scots exclamation of surprise, and English borrowed it from Scots, where it has been in use since the early 20th century. Its origin is less certain than its sound suggests. Scots interjections of this kind often grew out of religious oaths, and "crivvens" is generally understood as a softened, euphemistic form of "Christ's" with "-ens" tacked on, a pattern similar to other mild oaths that avoid taking the name of Christ directly. Oaths like this were shortened and disguised so speakers could express strong feeling without the sin of blasphemy. Once the oath lost its force, the word settled into a light, almost comic exclamation. Its best-known English appearance is in the Scottish dialect humour of the 20th century, where it became a marker of mild astonishment, the kind of thing a flustered grandmother might cry out on discovering a mess in the kitchen.

Synonyms: goodness, heavens