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: 1629-1637, 1692
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Spelk, v. [ME spelke, spelkyn (Prompt. Parv.), OE spelcan, WFlem. spelken, ON spelkja.] tr. a. To bind (a broken limb) by means of a splint. b. To stretch (a skin) with a rod, while it is drying. Cf. mod. Shetland usage ‘to skewer a split fish to keep it open for quicker drying’, SND Spelk v. 3. —a. 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1894) 221.
He is content that ye lay broken arms and legs on His knee, that He may spelk them 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1894) 267.
Many broken legs since Adam's days hath He spelked1692 Presbyterian Eloquence (1694) 58. —b. 1629 [Lowther's Jrnl. 14.
Their sheep skins of flayne or dead sheep they spelke them and hang them up in their fire houses to dry]
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"Spelk v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/spelk_v>
