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: 1581-1609
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Ley, Lie, n.1 [Late north. ME. lee (Cath. Angl.), e.m.E. le (1502), midl. ley, lie (Prompt. Parv.), midl. and south. (14th c.) leȝe, liȝe, (15th c.) lie, lye, early ME. leiȝe, leihe, OE. léaᵹ, léᵹ fem. The formal history is parallel to that of ey eye, hey, hie high, Ley n.2, etc.] a. Lye, water alkalized by the lixiviation of wood ashes. b. ? The fluid which collects in the body in dropsy (as e.m.E. (1615) lie). —a. 1609 Dundonald Par. Rec. 193.
[He] confessit the burning of asch treis on the Saboth in his barn to belie 1609 Ib. 194.
[He] confessit the burning the granes of asch to mak ley of the asches thairofb. 1581 Satirical Poems xliv. 141.
His bos bellie, ramforsit with creisch and lie, Vill serue to be a gabion in neid
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"Ley n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/ley_n_1>
