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: 1399-1460, 1513-1603
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Fleching, Fleiching, vbl. n. Also: flechyng, -inge, flesching, fleitching. [f. Fleche v.] The use of cajoling, coaxing, or insincere speeches. a1400 Legends of the Saints xlii. 66.
Scho … tuk bath ewine in a lyne, Thar harsknes & thare fleching c1420 Wynt. vi. 1779.
Be falshad and flechyng The crowne he gat c1420 Ib. vii. 2706.
Be … qwentys, slychtys, or flechyngys 1456 Hay I. 18/23.
He drewe, with his fleching and fair langage, the Emperour … to trow in his opyniouns c1460 Consail Wys Man 210.
Be war … With fleiching, pride, and ignorans 1513 Doug. xi. xiii. (heading).
Quhou Camylla … venquyst Awnus, for all his fair flechyng 1535 Stewart 5307.
Ȝour facund fleching, and ȝour wordis sueit 1570 Satirical Poems xii. 88.
Quhy suld ȝe feir or fauour thame for fleiching? 1603 Philotus iv.
Fra he fall till his fleitching
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"Fleching vbl. n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/fleching>
