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: 1420, 1499-1500
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Spens, n.2 [ME and e.m.E. spense (Ancr. R.), spens (a1350), OF espense (Godefroy).] Expense, expenditure. — c1420 Ratis Raving 1261.
Sum gud sciens Ma help thé to vphald thi spens a1500 Bernardus 50.
Sumpteus spens is foly and barnage a1500 Buke of the Sevyne Sagis 872.
Thai … tuke of moble sic plente That all his dettis he couth discharge And of his spens was als large As of befor
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"Spens n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/spens_n_2>
