A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1400-1595
[0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Debel(l, v. [e.m.E. debell (1555), L. dēbellāre.] tr. To subdue in fight; to beat down by warfare or force. 14.. Acts I. 401/2.
Thar lordis in quhais landis thai wonne may for scathis til thaim done debel the misdoaris be personis cumand betuen 1533 Boece iii. xvii. 115 b.
Vespasiane … passit apoun inemyis to debell atanis all the Albiane pepill 1533 Ib. xi. xvi. 438.
To debell the tyran 1568 Pref. Lyndesay 6.
Quha … did lang debell, and hald out the Romische superstitionis and ceremoneis 1595 Hist. Jas. VI. 356.
To debell the great ennemie to our Salviour Christ and all his
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Debel v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/debell>
