A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1513-1596
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Deform(e, v. [e.m.E. deforme, OF. deformer, L. dēformāre.] tr. To deform; to alter for the worse; to mar or spoil. c1515 Asloan MS I. 175/15.
Welany and vncunnyng makis ane gentle hart to deforme and change it self 1513 Doug. xii. xiii. 34.
Thou mycht … Deform the howshald, and bryng all on steir 1533 Bell. Livy II. 47/6.
This honest victorie … was deformit be ane schamefull iugement c1552 Lynd. Mon. 1526.
The erth … Wes be that furious flude deformit 1579 Reg. Privy C. III. 159.
That na officiar of his Hienes cunye house … deforme, melt, … or brek doun ony of the saidis pecis of sylvir money 1596 Dalr. I. 288/26.
Nathir … stormie tempest of the tyme had deformet it
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"Deform v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/deforme_v>
