A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1986 (DOST Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1409-1436, 1568-1634
[0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Quhen-as, Quhan(e)-as, adv. conj. Also: when-as, vhenas, quhen-es. [e.m.E. when as (1550); Quhen adv.1 and conj. + As adv. and conj. 1 b.]
1. As compound relative in the senses of Quhen adv.1 B 1–3.(a) c1409-1436 Kingis Quair ii.
Quhen as I lay in bed allone waking, … Fell me to mynd of [etc.] c1568 Lauder Minor P. i 142.
Quhen as tha knaw thair conscience is clene Of sik iniury as wes thair accusatioun, This earthlie trubill is thair grit consolatioun 1570 Satirical Poems xiii 5.
We … sall judge God aganis all ressoun striue Quhen as he tholis proude pelours to [etc.] 1578–9 Reg. Privy C. III 84.
I hard na word of this institutioun quhenas I coft the said hous 1583 Rec. Convention of Royal Burghs I 178.
Quhenas it salhappin the burrowis to haue to do thairwith 1584 Colville Lett. 49.
For me I am ashamit to ly heir agent, quhen es my good lordis salbe in danger of thair lyvis 1584 Acts III 305/1.
[They] slew … him with … his cubicularis, quhen as they … wes takand the nichtis rest c1590 Fowler I 294/86.
Thy promeis and thy will, Which thow quhen as it plesis thé, will both performe and fil c1590 Ib. 36/8.
When as 1598 Paisley B. Rec. 222.
[The said Waltir and Johne] wald not pey the said Margaret hir lawing, bot quhen as sho requirit the samin, rais from the tabl 1602 Colville Paraenese 2.
In as vofull … case as the Israelites wer into whenas thay fled from Egypt 1602 Ib. Ep. 11.
The Church … may iustly, vhenas any of hir members becum incorrigibill, sned tham of as inutill 1611–12 Misc. Spald. C. V 86.
To my Lord Merschellis nureis, quhen as the towne wes invited to be his gossipis, ane dubill angell 1611–12 Ib. 87.
For ane daill to fessin the hoill of the loft of the knok quhair the pases come downe, quhen as George Lesleye thocht to have escaped that waye 1612–13 Ib. 91.(b) a1570-86 Maitland Folio MS clxxviii 103.
The goldin knappis sall hing the gidder Quhane as thai talk of ony thing 1634 Dumbarton B. Rec. 45.
Quhan as thay find it requisite
2. As simple relative = Quhen adv.1 B 4. c1590 Fowler I 64/170.
The tyme and season … Quhen as the aequinoctiall lyne dois victor mak the day
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Quhen-as adv., conj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/quhen_as>
