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: 1569-1643
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Mistrust, n. [e.m.E. and ME. mistrust (Chaucer), mystrust, -trost.] a. (Religious) disbelief or doubt, lack of faith. b. Distrust, suspicion, wariness. Also const. of a person, and plur. —a. 1574 Edinburgh Testaments III. 174.
Belevand without ony dout or mistrust that be the grace … of Jesus … I … sall haif remissioun of my synnes a1570-86 Maitland Folio MS clxx. 155.
Job … Be miserie almaist mowed to mistrust [: iniust] —b. c1590 Fowler II. 24/37.
I not weil instructed in that point, that mistrust was the mother of securitie [etc.] 1627 Haddington Corr. 156.
That quhilk … may seam a mistrust of his maiestie —plur. 1643 Baillie II. 83.
Their mistrusts and slowness hes undone them
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"Mistrust n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/mistrust_n>
