A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1456, 1513-1549, 1616-1651
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Maltalent, n. Also: male-, mail-. [ME. (14th c.) and e.m.E. maltalent, maletalent, OF. maltalent irritation, anger, ill-will.] = Matalent n. 1456 Hay II. 91/21.
Nocht to be hyely na irefull and full of male talent 1513 Doug. i. i. h. of ch.
Junois wreth and mailtalent 1513 Ib. x. xii. 103.
Acron … in the ded thraw … Smate with hys helys the grond in maltalent 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 22/31.
Sayand that the grite afflictione [of Pinkie] … hes procedit fra the maltalent of dame Fortoune a1651 Calderwood IV. 483.
If I were a politick, with anie mal-talent toward him 1616 Misc. Hist. Soc. II. 221.
[They] did conceale … fra my father thair maltalent & malice against the Quene a 1649 Drummond Wks. (1711) 14.
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"Maltalent n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/maltalent>
