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: 1450-1452, 1577-1600
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Morto(u)n, -yn, Martoune, n. (Origin and precise application obscure: the name of some (appar. aquatic) bird. ? Cf. the mod. dial. mar(r)ot, mor(r)ot, the guillemot or the razorbill, ? from the cries.) — c1450-2 Howlat 213 (Asl.).
The martoune [v.r. morton], the murcoke, the myresnype in ane Lichtit … law by that laike a1578 Pitsc. I. 337 n.
[Thair was of meittis … ] duik, draik, mortoun and murfowll with goudneis [etc.] 1600 Acts IV. 236/2.
To sell or by … atteillis goldynkis mortynis schiwerinis [etc.] … or any sic kynd of foullis commounlie vseit to be chaisit with halkis
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"Morton n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/mortoun>
