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: 1499-1500, 1569-1586
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Pensive-, Penseiffnes, n. [Late ME. and e.m.E. pensyfnesse (Lydgate), pensiveness (1515). Cf. Pansivenes.] Gloomy thoughtfulness, heaviness of heart, sadness, anxiety. — a1500 Henr. Test. Cress. 317.
Melancholy Quhilk is the mother of all pensiuenes a1570-86 Maitland Folio MS clxxix. 2.
And lat alan all penseiffnes [Q. pansivnes]
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"Penseiffnes n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/penseiffnes>
