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.
Bribour, Brybour, n. Also: brybor, -ar. [ME. bribour, brybour (late 14th c.), AF. bribour, a vagabond, beggar.] A vagabond; a beggarly or despicable person; a wretch or rascal.(a) a1500 Henr. Fab. 991.
Rampand he said [to the fox and wolf] , ‘ga furth, brybouris baith’ 1535 Stewart 14034.
[Thou] tretis nane but brybouris of vyld blude Ib. 45694.
Thir brybouris bald, … Ilk da greit spulȝie in sindrie partis maid 1537 Lynd. Depl. Magd. 32.
Had thow … maid defence, That brybour [sc. Death] had not cummit within hir boundis 1540 Id. Sat. 4280.
Quhat brybour is this that maks sic beiris Id. Pedder C. 51.
That pedder brybour, … He tellis thame ilk ane caik by caik 1563-1570 Buch. Wr. 24.
Godles papistes, harlat protestantis, common brybours 1610 Glasgow B. Rec. I. 314.
Sclandering of the magistratis … in saying … that they leivit vpone his geir and vther mennis geir as gif they had bein brybarris(b) a1500 Seven S. 2763.
A man that for a madin was tane And bribour callit was be name c1500-c1512 Dunb. lxxxv. 30.
He brak the barmekyn of that bribour bla [sc. Satan] 1522 Doug. Wks. (1874) I. p. cx.
One bastard bribour quhilk had not vi d. of goode of his avne 1535 Stewart 25594.
To debailt the richt … Agane tha bribouris that war vnbaptist 1540 Lynd. Sat. Procl. 205.
Ȝone bribour was sa fleit he durst not byidattrib. c1500-c1512 Dunb. Flyt. 49.
Irsche brybour baird a1605 Montg. Son. xxiv. 9.
A brybour baird that mekle baill hes breud
