• Word Spy, Monday, September 21, 2009 10:53 AM

It's "de-Scottishify." According to Paul McFedries, it's a verb for rebranding a product or company "to play down or remove its Scottish connotations."

The earliest citation comes from an Agence France Presse story on Sept. 13: "A manufacturer of Harris Tweed has dropped the word "Scottish" from its U.S. marketing campaign amid fears of a consumer backlash over the release of the Lockerbie bomber, a report said Monday. ... 'We have been getting a lot of feedback and we have had to de Scottishify the image of the brand. If he had not been released, we would not have altered anything.'"

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