Do the English think of themselves as God's blessing to mankind? I ask this question because

The three adjectives Scotch , Scottish , Scots , are all still current, but differ in usage. Up to the middle of the 16th cent. the usual form in most of England was Scottish ; whereas in the north of England and in Scotland the usual form was Scottis (compare α. forms at Scots adj. and n.), subsequently contracted to Scots (compare β. forms at Scots adj. and n.). The southern form Scottish begins to appear in Scottish sources in the mid 16th cent., earliest in senses relating to the language (compare Scottish adj. 4 and Scottish n. 3). From about the same time forms of the Scottis type also occur more regularly in sources from England (compare e.g. quots. a1505 at Scotsman n. 1 and 1573 at Scots-Irish n. 1), although there is an apparently isolated Middle English example from London, in an Anglo-Norman context (see quot. 1346 at Scots adj. 1a).

The contraction of Scottis to Scots first appears in the second half of the 16th cent., almost simultaneously in Scotland (compare quot. ?c1568 at Scots adj. 1a) and England (compare quot. 1573 at Scots-Irish n. 1).

The contraction of Scottish to Scotch is first recorded in late Middle English in the compound Scotchman n. (see quot. 1407 at sense A. 1a), but then not until the second half of the 16th cent. (see quot. 1563 at sense A. 1a). From that time until the mid 19th cent. Scotch supersedes Scottish as the prevailing form (in all registers) in England (with the latter remaining available as a less common and markedly formal synonym). Scotch first appears in Scotland in the late 16th cent. (earliest in the form Skotsh), becoming more common in the following cent. Until the mid 18th cent. Scots and Scottish were preferred in literary use in Scotland, but by the end of the 18th cent. (partly reflecting the vogue for Anglicization) Scotch had also become accepted in literary use, and is frequently used e.g. by Burns and Scott. In the 19th cent. Scotch even occurs in official language in Scotland (reflecting usage in London), e.g. in the name of the ‘Scotch Education Department’ (1872, renamed the ‘Scottish Education Department’ in 1918).

Uncertainty among the educated classes in Scotland concerning the relative ‘correctness’ of the three competing terms may be noted as early as the late 18th cent., and by the mid 19th cent. there is a growing tendency among educated speakers to favour the more formal Scottish or (less frequently) the more traditional Scots over what was perceived as the more vulgar Scotch . By the beginning of the 20th cent. disapproval of Scotch by educated Scots was so great that its use had become something of a shibboleth (much to the bafflement of speakers outside Scotland for whom this was the usual word). During the 20th cent. educated usage in England gradually began to adapt in deference to the perceived Scottish preferences. Paradoxically, for working-class Scots (as indeed for all speakers of Scots, as opposed to Scottish standard English) Scotch has remained in common use.

In current British standard usage (following educated Scottish usage) Scottish is now the preferred adjective, especially in applications relating to the nation or the country at large or its institutions or characteristics, with Scotch retained chiefly as a relic form in certain fixed collocations (e.g. Scotch whisky n. and Scotch broth n. at Special uses 2; compare also quot. 2003 below). Nevertheless, many speakers in England still adhere to the older usage, and for speakers of English outside Britain Scotch continues to be used more generally (although awareness of recent changes in British standard usage is increasing).

Scots is also in use as adjective (more commonly in Scotland), but chiefly in specific contexts, most prominently with reference to the Scots language (compare Scots adj. 3, Scots n. 1) and to Scots law (compare Scots adj. 4). It is also in historical use designating (now disused) monetary units (compare Scots adj. 1b) and measurement (compare Scots adj. and n. Special uses 2) and the ancient inhabitants of Scotland as distinct from the modern Scottish people (compare Scots adj. 2), and is also common in the names of regiments (compare e.g. Scots Guard n. 2 and Scots adj. 6b; compare note at sense A. 1b).