A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1420, 1475-1591, 1677-1678
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Stump(e, Stomp(e, n. Also: stowmpe, stwmp(e. [ME and e.m.E. stompe (a1375), stump(e (c1430), MLG stump(e, MDu. stomp, ON stump-r.] a. The end of a limb from which the hand has been cut. b. Part of a garment, ? the arm or leg. c. A candle-end. d. The stump of a tree, or end of a plant left after cutting. Also fig.a. c1420 Wynt. v 4207.
He gert stryk off that hand … Than Mary myld, … Apperyd till hym … And till hys stwmp [C. stompe, W. stomp] scho set a hand c1420 Wynt. viii 2062.
Stwmpe [C. stumpe] c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace vi 167.
Than fra the stowmpe the blud out spurgyt fast 1678 Poor Man's Cup of Cold Water 28.
Having stretched out his hand against you, … he finds himself foiled, and made to draw-in a stumpb. 1506 Treasurer's Accounts III 313.
For vj elne smal cammes to lyne the doublatis bodyis and stumpes of the cotis 1540 Lynd. Sat. 4122.
To vpalandis telȝeouris I geve gud leve To steill a silly stump or sleve To Kittok his awin wyfec. 1506 Edinb. Hammermen 57.
Item for 1½ li. of walx ekit to ij ald stompis of the bras hers iij s. ix d. 1533 Cart. S. Nich. Aberd. II 363.
[They are] to … deliuer … at … Ȝowill the lichtis of wax [for the kirk] … and to ressaue thar stump agane ȝeirlied. 1677 Galloway P. 13 Feb.
Alexander Thomsone binds him … to cutt the haill wood evin to the ground and not to peill any of the stumps beneth the cuttingfig. 1590-1 R. Bruce Serm. 354.
Suspect ever your affections … for, when they appear … wholly rooted out and extinguished, the stumps of them stick in the soul and ane very slight object … will enkindle them
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"Stump n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/stumpe>
