A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1983 (DOST Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Parrat-, Parret(t)-coll, n. Also: -coal, -coalle. [Cf. mod. Eng. (north.) parrot coal (a 1789); also in the mod. Sc. and north. Eng. dial. Origin of parrot- uncertain.] A bright-burning bituminous coal; cannel. —1593–4 Lothian Mun. (Reg. H.) 24 Mar.
Reservand to the saidis lordis self … the coll callit the parrat coll 1639 Sc. Ant. III. 134.
Coale called vulgarlie the parret coal 1645–6 J. Hope Diary (1958) 146.
Or lyke a hard parrett coalle
