A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2000 (DOST Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1375-1699
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S(c)herand, S(c)heirand, ppl. adj. Also: schar-, schair- and -ing. [Pres. p. of Scher(e v. Cf. e.m.E. sheering (1599).]
1. Having a cutting edge; sharp, piercing. Also fig.(a) 1375 Barb. xvi 459.
Thai seruyt thaim on sa gret wane With scherand swerdis and with knyffis a1400 Legends of the Saints xxxiii 547.
A quhele … in it hade Sharpe swerdis scherand in al syde a1400 Ib. xx 363. ?1438 Alex. ii 9147.
Ane hand-ax in his hand Of steill richt sharpe and wele sherand ?1438 Ib. 5786. 1456 Hay II 44/33.
The suerd … is … maid with twa egeis, in takenyng that he suld … defend bathe temporalitee and spiritualitee with the double scherand suerd c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace i 414.
Apone the hede … he strak ane; The scherand suerd glaid to the colar bane 1513 Doug. iv x 109.
Eneas … hys scherand sword … Hynt owt of scheith, the cabil in twa gan smyte 1513 Ib. vii viii 110.
The batalis … with scharp scherand wapynnys maid melle 1531 Bell. Boece I 34.
The kingis armis in quhilkis was ane scherand sword [etc.] 1535 Stewart 57807.
Ilkane in hand haiffand ane scherand swourd(b) 1596 Dalr. I 90/22.
A … sword with a scheiring sharpe edge a1605 Montg. Misc. P. xxxiii 18.
The sheirand shaft soon slippit to my hairt c1640 Bk. Pasquils 103.
I was a Couenanter … With … My 7 yells of Flanders matche, And my sheiring suord(c) 1460 Hay Alex. 819.
Wpoun a speir point scharpe and wele scharand c1590 J. Stewart 236 §145.
As ane schairing sourd thair vords cums outfig. 1500-1699 Herbarius Latinus Annot. (Bot.).
And the vring be thyne … betaknis … our mekle abundance of blud with a scharp scherand het tharwith
2. That divides or separates. 1513 Doug. xii Prol. 88 (Ruddim.).
The varyant vesture of the venust vale Schrowdis the scherand [C. scherald] fur
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"Sherand ppl. adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/scherand_ppl_adj>
