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: 1507-1609
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Spelun(c)(k, n. [ME and e.m.E. spelunke (14th c.), spelonk(e (1377), OF spelonque (c1265 in Larousse), med. L. spelunca (1232 in Latham). Cf. MDu. spelonke, spelunke.] lit. and fig. A cave or cavern; a den. a1508 Kennedy Flyt. 275.
Scottis lordis chiftanis he gart hald … In firmance … Within Dumbar, that auld spelunk of tressoun 1537 St. P. Henry VIII V 126.
For it [sc. the debateable land] is now bot ane spelunc [pr. spelunt] and hurd of thewis 1563 Edinb. B. Rec. III 167.
Grenesyde as it presentlie standis is bot ane spelunc [ed. spelmea] and den for thevis 1587 Crawford Mun. Invent. II 185 (18 May).
I am perfyttar naw nor of befoir of thair quyet spelunkis and passages c1590 J. Stewart 77/145.
Thair vas ane spelunc quhair thay [sc. the lovers] did remaine 1609 Garden Garden 92.
View This sepulture, or this spelunck espie: Whair … Apollos freind, and Pallas loue does lie
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"Spelun n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/spelunck>
