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: 1569-1592
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Contravaill, v. Also: -vaile, -waile, -wall, -veale, -weall; contrevaill. [e.m.E. contrevaile (var. of countre-, countervaile, AF. countre-) OF. contrevaloir, L. contrā valēre.] tr. To equal in value; to counterbalance; to reciprocate. 1569-73 Bann. Memor. 156.
Whairvpoun gritter thingis dependis than … the lyves of sic as ony of vs tua may contraveale [v.r. -weall] 1569-73 Ib. 157.
In consideratioune that the one will ever contravaile [v.r. -waile] the vther a1570-86 Maitland Folio MS clxx. 124.
Sewin sonis ȝe had mycht contrawall [Q. -vaill] his thre 1592 Warrender P. II. 178.
I am nocht able … to contrevaill the smallest pairt of your majesties favour
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Contravaill v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/contravaill>
