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.
Quotation dates: 1540-1591
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Pegrall, Pygrall, Pigraill, Peggrell, a. [Altered form of Pedral n. a. In the mod. dial. as adj. = mean, grasping, and as n. = a rough or common fellow, a thin, pallid boy.] Petty; paltry, trifling. — 1540 Lynd. Sat. 2653 (B).
Ane pegrall [Ch. peggrell] theif that stelis a kow Is hangit 1567 Satirical Poems iii. 121.
Gif God was wraith at ane small pegrall stouth 1572 Ib. xxxvi. 126.
Mortoun [etc.] … That of his [sc. Northumberland's] bluide resavit the pygrall pryce 1591 Cal. Sc. P. X. 509.
Lett it be presentlie mendit sen it is butt sa pigraill a maitter
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"Pegrall adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/pegrall>
