Fair Maid of Perth
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Katie Glover, heroine of Scott's novel of the same name, is supposed to have lived in the early 15th century, but is not a definite historical character, though her house is still shown at Perth.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Fair Maid of Perth” mean?
Katie Glover, heroine of Scott's novel of the same name, is supposed to have lived in the early 15th century, but is not a definite historical character, though her house is still shown at Perth.
Is “Fair Maid of Perth” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.