A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Mort lamb skin, n. Also: murt. [Cf. Mort n. and e.m.E. mort the skin of a sheep or lamb that has died a natural death (1592), (north.) mort skin id. (1624) and mod. Sc. dial. mort lamb skin and mort id.] The skin of a lamb that has died a natural death. Also uninfl. as a coll. pl. (Cf. also mortall lamb skyn, Mortal(l a. 8.) —1692 Conv. Burghs IV. 602.
Fyve thousand sheep skins … sex thousand mort lambskins 1700 Hawick Ann. 108.
Ane murt lamb skin [is stated to be hardly worth 2 s. Scots] 1703 Acts XI. 46/1.
An act allowing the exportation of mort lamb skin
