A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2000 (DOST Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: <1375, 1375-1499, 1630-1649
[1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0]
Scurell, Skurel, Squirrell, n. Also: skarale; skuyr(r)ell; skeyrall. [ME and e.m.E. squyrel (?a1366), scorel (Prompt. Parv.), scurelle (1475), squerel (15th c.), AF esquirel, OF escurieul, escu(i)reul (c1175 and 13th c. in Larousse), vulgar L. *scūriolus, f. L. sciurus a squirrel.] A squirrel; a squirrel skin or fur. — 1328 Exchequer Rolls I 119.
[vij supertunicis de squirrelles 1329 Exchequer Rolls I 220.]
Quater viginti supertunicarum de scorella et de strendlings 14.. Acts I 303/2.
Of the tymmyr of skurel [Balfour Pract. 86, skarale; Edinb. B. Rec. I 238, scurell] ij d.; Of ane hundreth gray gryse and skurel dycht and letheryt viij d. 1630 Gordon Geneal. Hist. 3.
They are full of … foxes, … brocks, skuyrrells [v.r. skuyrell], whittrets, … martrixes, … fulmarts a1649 Inv. of Pictures in Hamilton Mun. MS 46.
A woman with a skeyrall in hir hand of Tician
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Scurell n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/scurell>
