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: 1512-1597, 1652-1668
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Te(i)l(l, n. Also: teall, teale, taill, tale, tyll. [ME and e.m.E. tele (1314), teele (1530), teyle (c1532), teale (1538), teil (1614), MDu. teiling, MLG têlink.] The teal, chiefly or only as an item of food.(a) 1512 Household Bk. Jas. IV 18b.
For ii pluuaris & ii teillis xvi d. 1525 Household Bks. Jas. V 21.
v telis 1553 Edinb. B. Rec. II 185.
The best snype ij d., the best wyld duik xii d., the best teill iiij d. 1555 Acts II 498/2.
That na … teill or goldeine be slane vnto the feist of Michaelmes 1597 Household Bks. Jas. VI and Anne 6 Nov.
Twa tellis 1597 Stirling Palace Larder Bk.
Teil 1652 Grant Chart. 461.
To … furnish the … house with … duick and dreak, teall and ateall [etc.] 1663–6 Household Bks. Archb. Sharp MS 36a.
For a teale(b) 1512 Household Bk. Jas. IV 18a.
For a taill & smal birdis xii d. 1512 Household Bk. Jas. IV 23a.
For ii talys xii d.(c) 1668 Edinb. B. Rec. X 52.
The pair of tylls, 6 s.
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"Tel n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/teill>
