dunt verb thump, knock: It gave my heart such a dunt I grat like a bairn [It gave my heart such a knock that I cried like a baby.] 16-. etymology: Scots; Older Scots dunt, dont ‘a heavy blow from ante 1522’. verb ‘to deal heavy blows; to stamp heavily from ante 1500’; ‘of the heart: to beat violently circa 1540’. Probably imitative in origin: compare Norwegian dialect dunt ‘a blow, bump, thump’; attested by JS, ET and BW |