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: 1399-1400, 1456, 1513, 1619
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Wreth(e, Writhe, Wryth, Wraethe, n. [ME and e.m.E. wrethe (14th c), wraythe (?a1400), wrythe (1548), wreathe (1552), OE wriða.] a. A necklace or similar ornament (of gold) for wearing round the neck. b. A (laurel) wreathe as a mark of distinction. —a. a1400 Legends of the Saints xlvii 196.
A martyre To quham the iug … gef a kirtil & of fyne gold as wrethe 1456 Hay I 46/14.
And tuke … a grete wreth of golde, callit a sarp … and put it about his hals —(b) 1513 Doug. v x 25.
The wryth [Sm. writhe, Ruddim. bruche; L. circulus] of gold, or chane lowpyt in ryngis, About thar hals down to thar breistis hyngis —b. 1619 Garden Elphinstoun 214.
His course conclooded hee; And manumissed then, Withe laude the laurell wraethe … He got
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"Wreth n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/wrethe>
