A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
(Skelf,) Skelv(e, n.2 [? Du. schelf a scale, flake or splinter of wood. Also in the later Sc. and north. Irish dialects.] A splinter, a sharp fragment of wood, stone or metal. — c1610 Melville Mem. 24.
Few or nane of souldiours that cam fourth of Dynan bot they wer hurt other with skelves of stanes be the force of our battery, or wer brunt with the fyre brandis c1610 Melville Mem. 84.
The King Hendre 2 being hurt in the head with the skelv of a spair … at the triumphall justin of his dochters mariage
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Skelf n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 23 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/skelf_n_2>