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: 1500-1552
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Dirkin, -yn, Dyrkyn, v. [ME. dyrkyn (a 1400), durken, variant of derken. Cf. Dirk,v.] a. intr. To lie hid, to lurk. b. tr. To make dark. c. intr. To become dark.a. c1500-c1512 Dunb. Tua Mar. W. 9.
I drew in derne to the dyk to dirkin eftir myrthisb. 1513 Doug. vii. Prol. 47.
Thik drumly skuggis dyrknyt [Sm. dirknit] so the hevyn 1513 Ib. xi. xii. 36; etc.
The dartis thyk … Dyrknyt the hevynnys and the skyis lyght c1520-c1535 Nesbit N. T. III. 316/4.
It hes beynne hiddirtillis sa ewill dirknet with glosses 1533 Boece xiii. iv. 504.
Na cluddis to dirkin the lift c1552 Lynd. Mon. 1411.
Quhen vglie cluddis … dirkynnit so the heuinnis brycht c1552 Ib. 5381.
So dirknit bene boith sonne and monec. 1513 Doug. xiii. Prol. 30.
The day [began] to dyrkyn, declyne, and devaill 1513 Ib. vi. 219.
Of the laithly smokis … The hevin dyrknyt
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Dirkin v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/dirkin>
