A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1990 (DOST Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1540-1626, 1689
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1]
Relent, v. [ME and e.m.E. relente(n (Chaucer), -lent, med. L. relentāre. Cf. F. ralentir to slacken (mid-16th c. in Larousse), L. relentescere to grow slack.] a. tr. To lessen, abate (weakness); to soften (a person's heart). b. ? To free in part (from (of) harshness). c. intr. To slacken; to act more cautiously. —a. 1540 Lynd. Sat. 391.
I am bot schent, Withowt scho [cum] incontinent, My grit langour for to relent c1614 Mure Dido & Æneas ii 543. —
How dar he this his enterprise reveale To furiows Dido? how her minde relent?b. 1626 Justiciary Cases I 52. —
Scho was compellit to say and ganesay as it pleisit thame other to puneis or to relent hir of thair rigourc. c1590 Fowler I 62/124.
Our chaines did not relent, Nor yit wer we vnloused of thame 1689 Siege Castle Edinb. 75.
The garrison fired warmly … till … they relented to menadge ther powder
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Relent v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/relent>
