A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1456-1533, 1597
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Bakbiting, n. Also: -byt(t)ing, -bitine. [ME. bakbytyng, bacbitunge (13th c.).] Backbiting, slandering. —1456 Hay II. 61/1 (throu envious langage of bakbyting). c1490 Irland Asl. MS. I. 67/10 (sclander, bakbiting, detractioun). c1500-c1512 Dunb. Flyt. 22 (in thair bakbytting). 1533 Gau 17/28 (of thair bakbitine). 1597 S. Leith Rec. 2 (behind his bak, quhilk we call bakbytting).
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Bakbiting n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/bakbiting>
