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: <1375, 1375-1420, 1499-1513, 1598-1616, 1684
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Flat, Flatt, n. [ME. flat (1296), f. Flat,a.]
1. A piece of level ground.Frequent in early place-names, as Thirlestanflat, Crosserigeflat, Folkesflat (c 1220), Twedeflat (c 1240), Langflat (1271), Uppelandflat (c 1280), Fernflatis (1327), etc. c 1320 Reg. Great S. (1814) 5/2.
Terram … que vocatur le flat c1420 Wynt. iii. 239.
In thare flattis gret, Than growand grene off wyne and quheyt a1500 Henr. Fab. 2783.
Seis thow, quod scho, of corne ȝone jolie flat? 1513 Doug. ii. vi. 13.
Lyke quhen the fyre, be fellon wyndis blast, Is drevyn amyd the flat of cornys rank 1513 Ib. vii. xii. 38.
The ȝallow corn flattis of Lyde
2. A pump-valve. 1598 Acts IV. 176/1.
Pompis with flatis & heingies or girthis maid of cordis, wod, horne, or mettall
3. A level part of a structure. 1616 Aberd. B. Rec. II. 339.
[He] sall flatt the samen [wall] ouer, lewell with the present flatt entering to the tolbuith doir 1684 Thanes of Cawdor 368.
The water … to … runne under the flatt at the foot of stair
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"Flat n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/flat_n>
