A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
(Ale-,) Ail-wisp, n. [Wisp n.] A wisp of straw used as the sign of an ale-house. —c1500-c1512 Dunb. vi. 110.
A bag pipe to play a spryng, Et unum ail wosp [B. ailwisp] ante me
