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: 1420-1515
[0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Clift, Clyft, n.1 Also: clyfft. [ME. (rare) and e.m.E. clift, alteration of cliff.] A cliff. c1420 Wynt. i. 112.
A propyr place … Off clyfftis, craggis, and of cluys c1450-2 Howlat 10.
Throw thir cliftis so cleir, … I raikit till ane reveir c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace vii. 859.
Makfadȝane fled, … On till a cave, within a clyft of stayne c1515 Asloan MS I. 161/23.
On the cliftis and strandis of the se is gadderit … reid precius stanis
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Clift n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/clift_n_1>
