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I looked up the dictionary, and both gave me definitions that refer to a people from Scotland. Is there a difference between these two words?

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Scotchy scotch scotch goes into your belly; the other one usually doesn't. – Billare May 30 '11 at 22:40
Is that an Anchorman reference? ;) – BBischof May 30 '11 at 22:56
"Ususally." Teeheehee. – codelegant May 30 '11 at 23:01
Another one is "Scots", as in "Scots language". – Mechanical snail Dec 23 '12 at 4:56

1 Answer

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Wikipedia has an article on Scotch. Essentially it is the old version of the adjective, while Scots and Scottish are more common now. The people are Scots as a noun, as in "He is a Scot" or "He is Scottish".

The best line in the article is:

One cynical joke is that Scotch can be used only for things which can be bought, such as whisky, eggs and politicians.

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tape should be included in that list! – Jimi Oke May 31 '11 at 0:55
@Jimi Oke: Not in the UK (which at the time of writing still includes Scotland) it shouldn't! – Colin Fine May 31 '11 at 13:42

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