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: 1475, 1531-1578
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Breifly, adv. Also: breif(fe)lie, breiffly, breyffly. [ME. brefely, breyfly (14th c.). Cf. Brevely.] Briefly, shortly. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace viii. 975.
To my sentence breyffly will I pass c1475 Ib. xi. 1216.
To my purpos breiffly I will me haist 1531 Bell. Boece I. p. iii.
The proheme … schawand breiffelie … the contentis … in this buke c1568 Lauder Minor P. i. 378.
Now haue ȝe herd the first commoditie … Breiflie discussit a1578 Pitsc. I. 1/8.
So breiflie succeidin all the kingis
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"Breifly adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/breifly>
