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: 1590, 1646-1690
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Minchit, Mins(c)hit, ppl. a. Also: -ed, mincht. [e.m.E. minched (1609), e.m.E. and late ME. minced, mynced etc.] a. Chopped up, minced. Mincht pey, = e.m.E. minced pye (1607) a mince-pie. b. fig. ? Broken up, irregular (metre). c. Of an oath: Watered down, moderated, replaced by a euphemism. —a. 1646 Montgomery Mem. 302.
To the Colonel his minshit meat and tostis to his supper 1690 Lorimer St. Cuthbert's 50.
A dish of mincht peys —b. c1590 J. Stewart II. 48/16.
My minschit meitir c1590 Ib. 103/8.
Ay hoiping suirlie still Ȝour hienes vill my minchit meiter mend —c. ? 1654 Banff Field C. (1908–9) 96.
The elders of Dunbennand … [ought to] abstain from minched oaths 1685-8 Renwick Serm. 24.
Ȝe who follow not gross swearing … yet cleaue unto your petty minched oaths 1685-8 Ib. 245.
Banning and swearing minch'd oaths, even among professors in societies; some having their shame, their haes and their faes and the like, they inay even speak them all out
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"Minchit ppl. adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/minchit>
