A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1400-1610, 1684
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Skirl, n. Also: skirll, skirle, skyrl. [Skirl(e v.] A scream, shriek or wail. Also, the action of screaming, etc.(1) 14.. Orphius 42.
Or euer we vost scho gaif ane skirll, And ay sensyne scho vas deidlyk 1513 Doug. ii xi 1.
Wyth skyrlys and with scrykis … Fillyng the hows with murnyng and salt teris 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 40/11.
He cryit vitht ane skyrl, quod he, ‘I see ane grit schip’ a1605 Montg. Misc. P. viii 29.
Thy elrish skirlis do penetrat the roks c1610 Melville Mem. 149.
He geving gret skirlis and cryes, wes rudly reft from the quen 1684 Law Memor. 166.
And cryed out fearfully with a wyld skirle and noise(2) 1533 Bell. Livy I 18/8.
Ane wolf … be skirl of thir barnys come to the samyn place quhare thai war cassin to be perist c1590 J. Stewart 47/157.
Nane durst assaill except vith skirll and schout
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"Skirl n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/skirl>
