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: 1558-1641
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(Chefely,) Cheiflie, adv. Also: chiefly, cheaflie, chyflie; scheiflie. [e.m.E. chief(e)ly, ME. chefly (14th c.), f. Chefe a.] Principally, chiefly.1558 Misc. Wodrow Soc. 99 (that al errour hes cheiflie procedit … ). 1562-3 Winȝet I. 66/13 (in the quhilkis maist cheiflie ȝe appere … ). 1573 Satirical Poems xl. 92 (quhair chiefly I wald be). a1585 Maitland Quarto MS lxii. 125 (cheiflie Mortoun and Lochlevin by name). 1587 Aberd. Council Lett. I 12.
Scheiflie1588 Events Q. Mary 54 (the man he hes chiefliest to do with). 1596 Dalr. I. 5/26 (cheiflie in Orknay, Cathnesse, and Rosse). 1610 Glasgow Trades House 26.
Bot scheiflie having respect to the said Mr. John1615 Highland P. III. 282 (being cheiflie cairfull of the saftie of the cuntrie). 1641 Acts V. 606/2 (the teind of fisches, scheiflie of herring).
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"Chefely adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/chefely>
