What does baith mean?
Baith is a Scots word meaning 'both', used to refer to two people or things together. It functions much like the standard English word 'both', serving either as a determiner placed before a noun phrase — as in 'baith the bairns were tired' — or as a pronoun standing on its own, as in 'she liked them baith'. Found chiefly in Scotland, it is a living feature of everyday Scottish speech and a staple of literature written in Scots, from Robert Burns onward. Its long history reflects the shared Germanic roots of Scots and English: it descends from the same Old Norse-influenced Old English forms that gave modern English 'both'. For readers outside Scotland it may look unfamiliar, but within Scottish conversation and verse it remains entirely ordinary. Baith offers a vivid example of how regional language preserves older forms of expression that have otherwise fallen away elsewhere in the English-speaking world.
Scots: referring to the two people or things already mentioned or implied; both.
"Baith sides agreed tae meet again the following week."
Scots: the two together, without naming them directly; both.
"He shook hands wi' them baith."
In Scotland, people don't say 'both of them' — they say 'baith o' them', keeping alive a pronunciation that stretches back to Middle English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of baith
Baith comes from Old Norse 'báðir' ('both'), which entered northern English and Scots during the Viking Age and developed alongside the standard English form 'both'. Both words trace back to the same Proto-Germanic root, so 'baith' and 'both' are true sibling forms rather than one deriving from the other. It has remained in continuous use in Scots from the medieval period to the present day.
How baith is actually used
Primarily found in Scottish speech and writing, especially informal registers and literature in Scots. Rarely encountered outside Scotland; standard English uses 'both'.
Easily confused with baith
'Bath' is the common English noun for washing or the room containing a tub, whereas 'baith' is a Scots word meaning 'both'.
'Both' is the standard English equivalent; 'baith' is simply its Scots-language counterpart.