Ware
- spring. Like the word voar found in the Northern Isles, ware also comes from Old Norse vár, but it is mainly used in the South West of Scotland. The ware-quarter ran from February to April and so, at the beginning of ware, even in the south of Scotland, there was little relief from the harshness of winter. Hence we have the proverb recorded in James Kelly’s Collection of Scottish Proverbs (1721): The Ware Evening is long and tough, The Harvest Evening runs soon o’er the Heugh [crag]. Ware-day was the first day of spring but lang-ware-day was the term for a period of dearth in March.