Meaning & use
luckenbooth
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableScottish
A small Scottish brooch, often shaped like two joined hearts or a heart with a crown, traditionally given as a love token.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or a plural form, as in a luckenbooth or luckenbooths.
Patterns
- a silver luckenbooth
- give someone a luckenbooth
- wear a luckenbooth
She wore a silver luckenbooth pinned to her shawl.
In the museum case, a small luckenbooth was displayed beside a handwritten love letter.
He bought a luckenbooth for his wife on their anniversary in Edinburgh.
nouncountableScottishold-fashioned
A market stall or small shop, especially in a Scottish town in the past.
Grammar: Countable and old-fashioned; often appears in historical descriptions of Scottish streets.
Patterns
- at the luckenbooths
- a row of luckenbooths
The old town had a row of luckenbooths where traders sold cloth and pins.
He read about the luckenbooths that once stood near the market cross.
Word forms
| plural | luckenbooths |
|---|
Common combinations
- silver luckenbooth
- A silver luckenbooth is a popular souvenir in Scotland.
- luckenbooth brooch
- The luckenbooth brooch had two hearts joined by a crown.
- give a luckenbooth
- He gave her a luckenbooth as a sign of his love.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- lucken adjective
- An old Scottish word meaning 'locked' or 'closed', though it is rarely used on its own today.
Commonly confused: luckenbooth or lucky booth?
luckenbooth vs lucky booth
This is not a standard term; learners may mishear luckenbooth as 'lucky booth', but the real word refers to a Scottish brooch or old stall.
Practice
What is a luckenbooth traditionally?
Choose one answer.
A luckenbooth is a Scottish brooch, often with hearts or a crown, given as a love token. The other options confuse it with 'lucky booth' or invent meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “luckenbooth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.