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.
Quotation dates: 1584-1600
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Birthful, -full, a. [Late ME. birthfulle (rare); f. Birth n.1] Prolific; fertile. a1585 Maitland Quarto MS lxxx. 10.
The painfull pangs … tormenting birthfull wombe 1596 Dalr. I. 9/9.
Of quhilkis the ane parte lyeng to the South is mekle birthfuller, throuch fertilitie of the ground 1596 Ib. II. 23/27.
Lyk a birthfull trie 1600 Hamilton Facile Tr. 184.
The Catholik kirk is maid mair birthful be cutting auay …
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"Birthful adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/birthful>
