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: 1399-1420, 1537-1592
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(Nov-,) Nowis, -ice, Noveis, -eice, n. Also: nowys, nawis, newice. [ME. and e.m.E. novys (14th c.), -ise (1401), novyce (c 1380), -ice (15th c.), OF. novisse, novice, L. novīcius, -īcia.]
A novice or probationer in a religious house; also, a beginner or tiro in other spheres.(1) a1400 Legends of the Saints xxx. 413.
Thane wes he tane & mad nowis & leryt sa … Al that til a monk suld fere a1538 Abell 86 a.
And sa refusand his dignate … he tuik his leif and wes a nawis & monk in Cowper in Angus a1538 Ib. 114 a.
He wes neuir a sone of religioun for he wes nocht newice nor professit 1540 Lynd. Sat. 463.
Noveis [Ch. noueis] 1571 Sempill Sat. P. xxviii. 53.
Than twa ȝeiris noueis … ȝond in Kiluinning my prentischip I past 1562-92 Wode's Psalter (ed.) 191.
Noveice in the abbay of Sanctandrous(2) c1420 Wynt. iv. 1608.
All thaire senatowrys … Behuwyd to be in thare serwys Informyd and kend as yhong nowys [C. nowice]
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"Nowis n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/nowis_n>
