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: 1420-1512, 1567-1578
[0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Benignite(e, n. Also: benygntte, benignitie; beningnitie, benyngnyte. [ME. benignité (Chaucer), benygnyté, -eté, etc., OF. benignité, L. benignitas.]Benignity, kindness, graciousness.c1420 Wynt. v. 895 (for his gret benygnyte). c1420 Ib. viii. 776 (lettrys off benyngnyte). 1456 Hay II. 76/19 (with clemence, benignitee, and suetenes). 1490 Irland Mir. I. 6/3 (all maner of sueitnes and benignite). c1500-c1512 Dunb. iv. 27 (the bab full of benignite). 1567 Gude and Godlie Ballatis 93 (thy gudnes and beningnitie). a1578 Pitsc. I. 110/25 (prayand the king of his benignitie to spair thame).
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Benignite n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/benignitee>
