A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1584, 1655
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Turncoat, Turne cott, n. [e.m.E. turne coate (1557).] One who changes his principles, a turncoat. — 1584 Sempill in Sat. P. xlv 787.
When this turne cott tuke gude nycht, … Said to his servandis for a quha say, [etc.] c1655 Fugitive Poetry xxviii 60.
Cutt-throat surgeons … Charmeing hawkes and hobbie noddies, All papist turncoats out of hell
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"Turncoat n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/turncoat>
