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: 1653-1658
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Smattering, Smackering, vbl. n. (e.m.E. smateryng (1538), smakering (1579), smattering (1589) a slight or superficial knowledge.) — (a) 1653 Binning Wks. 544.
It is a light and overly knowledge of it, a small smattering of the doctrine of it —(b) 1658 R. Moray Lett. fol. 251.
But any smackering of skill
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"Smattering vbl. n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/smattering>
