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: 1604-1660
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Slae, Slo, n. [North. e.m.E. sla (once, Cath. Angl.), ME and e.m.E. slo (c1340), OE slá(h.] The fruit of the blackthorn; also specif. in the title of the poem by Alexander Montgomerie. —(a) a1605 Montg. Ch. & Slae 322 (Wr.).
A bush of bitter slaes a1605 Montg. Ch. & Slae 612 (W).
The poyssonit slae to pow 1615 in The Poems of Alexander Montgomerie (S.T.S. 9–11) Introd. li.
The Cherrie and the Slae … newly altered, perfyted and divided into 114 quatorziems —(b) 1623 Orkney & Shetl. Ct. Bk. in Misc. Maitl. C. II 197.
That nae persone … sall cutt bent nor pull slos … before the feist of Lambemes 1660 S. Ronaldshay 30.
Kathareen … directed her to … pull some of the seid of slos or rusches
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"Slae n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/slae>
