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.
Quotation dates: 1513, 1628-1693
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1]
Slay, Sla(i)e, n. [ME and e.m.E. slay (1316), sleye (15th c.), OE sleȝe. Cf. MLG, MDu. slach, ON slagr. Ultim. f. as Sla v.] An instrument used in weaving to beat up the weft. = Red(e n.2 5. Also attrib. with wright. — 1513 Doug. vi xvi 29.
With subtil slays [Sm. slais, Ruddim. slayis] and hir hedlys sle Rich lynȝe wobbis natly wefis sche 1628 Edinburgh Testaments LIV 266.
Fyve boundis of slaes threid … ane hundreth bound of the said slayes 1660 Lanark B. Rec. 175.
All sort of work loomes, such as slaies, shottles [etc.] —attrib. 1693 Irvine Deeds (Sasine) 24 May.
Archbald Bordland Slaewright
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Slay n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/slay>
