A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1375, 1486-1581
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Wavering, -ynge, Waweryng, Vaveryng, vbl. n. [ME and e.m.E. wauerynge.] a. fig.Hesitation, vacillation; unreliability. b. Wandering about, loitering. —a. 1375 Barb. vi 586.
The hund … ay folowit the kingis trace But waweryng [C. vaueryng] c1500-c1512 Dunb. (OUP) 185/2.
Be mery, man, and tak nocht fer in mynd The wavering of this wrechit vale of sorow c1520-c1535 Nisbet Prol. Rom. 320/20.
We beleif the promises of Gode without waweryng 1581 Burne Disput. 79.
Sua ȝe may se … hou ȝe put the pure flok of Christ in perpetual vauering —b. a1487 Gud Wyf & D. 149 (see Waver v.1 1 (b)).
Vaveryng [v.r. waverynge]
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"Wavering vbl. n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/wavering>
