A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: <1375, 1375-1400, 1455-1513, 1567-1594
[1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Wra, n. Also: wraw(e, (wraa), wray, wrey. [ME wra (Cursor M.), wro (Havelok), wraa (a1400-50), ON rá, r, MSw. vra(a.] A nook, corner; an out of the way place or ? a corner-shaped area of land. Also fig. b. ? A place of refuge. c. ? A bay or inlet. 1455 Exchequer Rolls VI 90.
Terre de le Wra 1456 Exchequer Rolls VI 211.
Terrarum de Esterquhitewraa 1470 Prestwick B. Rec. 8 (see Land n.1 5 c (1)).
Wra-endis 1240 Lindores Chart. 79.
Et ligna que dicuntur wrawes de bule et de auhne 1460 Hay Alex. 84.
Ane serpent … Quhilk … oureȝeid all baith hirn nuke and wra 1513 Doug. vi Prol. 158.
Set thou to Wlcane haue ful gret resembling … Or sum blynd Ciclopes of thy laithly wra [: Ethna]fig. a1400 Legends of the Saints xliii 495.
I … giffis bot a lytil wra, A vyd merkat thare-for I tab. a1568 Bannatyne MS 217a/12.
Than is thair non to confort me Quhen I am standand in that stage … Thair is nocht wrey in wardlie wregec. 1594 Orkney & Shetl. Rec. I 217.
That the saidis persones … sall nawayes slay small fische within the soundis and wrayis thairof
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Wra n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/wra>
