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: 1420, 1520-1535, 1590-1635
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Phial, Phiol(e, n. Also: phiale; phioll, phyoll. [ME. fyole (14th c.), fiol (Wyclif), fialle (1483), phial (1609), F. fiole (12th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), phiole (13th c. in Littré) a phial, also Fyal(l n., late L. phiola, L. phiala a broad flat vessel. See also Viall n.] a. A vessel for holding liquids; a vial. b. A small glass bottle.Also comb. in phial glas.(a) c1420 Wynt. ix. 588 (C).
The bischope … Anournyt his kyrk withe fayr iowelis Westymentis bukys and othir ma, Pleyssande phialis [A. phiolys, R. playokis, E. phibbys, L. thingis] he gaf alssua c1520-c1535 Nisbet Apoc. v. 8, etc.
And had ilk of thame harpis and goldin phialis [Wyclif fioles, P. violis; L. phialas] full of odouris(b) c1590 J. Stewart 38/293.
Ane beuget … Out of the quhilk he did ane phiole slyd Vith liquor plinist c1610 Melville Mem. ii.
It was a phioll of the only maist precious balm that grew in Egipt 1620 Melrose P. 380.
He commanded the water to be put in a phiole of gold and … kept amongst … his infinit treasorcomb. 1590 Edinburgh Testaments XXI. 311 b.
lxxv Danskene phyoll glas at xl the hundreth 1590 Ib.
Ane hundreth of Frenche & Flanderis phyoll glas 1635 Ib. LVII. 140.
Thriescoir phiale glasis
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"Phial n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/phial>
