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: 1654-1675
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Snuff(e, n. [ME and e.m.E. snoffe (Wyclif), snuffe (Prompt. Parv.) the burnt part of a candle-wick, in this sense, snuffe (1560).] a. To take (something) in snuff, to take offence. b. A fit of rage or indignation, a huff. —a. ?c1675 J. Gordon Hist. I 97.
The king … calles for him [sc. Lord of Lorn] to court, but he being come, was put by … wherupon he tooke it in snuff, and tould the king that he would be for the countrey —b. 1654 Inchmahome Pr. 149.
So shee parted in ane greate snuffe
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"Snuff n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/snuffe_n>
