A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1558-1605
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Kytrall, -rell, Ketter-, Kitterell, n. [Origin uncertain: possibly formed on kyte (the name of the bird: Kyte n.2) like taidrell on taid, tade (a toad), but the variations in spelling leave this in some doubt. (Also in the later dial. as kiteral, ketrail, s.v. Kiteral, derived by SND. f. Du. ketter, Norw. kjettar, Germ. ketzer heretic, sodomite.)] A term of contempt: ? A despicable creature, a wretch. — 1558-66 Glencairn in Knox I. 74.
Thay kettereles [Calderwood kitterells] though they had but lyse, The twa part to us they will bring a1605 Montg. Flyt. 447.
They kowd all the kytrall [T. kytrell], … They calld it peild Polwart
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"Kytrall n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/kytrall>
