A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1420, 1513-1581
[0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Bone, boyn(e, n.1 Also: bown(e, boune. [ME. bone (c 1175), bon, also boyn(e, bun(e, boun, ON. bón.]
1. A prayer; the thing prayed or asked for. a1400 Legends of the Saints xviii. 689.
Fra that I had mad this bone a1400 Ib. 1101.
Fayre fadyr! my bowne grant me a1400 Ib. xxxvi. 528.
He … to the maydine gef it son … til fil hir bone c1420 Wynt. viii. 997 (W).
Scho, that saw na better bone, Till his bidding grantit sone 1513 Doug. viii. Prol. 140.
Sum langis … for thar bontay or boyn 1513 Ib. ix. vii. 76; etc.
With afald voce thus wys he maid his boyn
2. Attrib. with service, scheiring, silver. (Cf. Bonday.) 1546–7 Hamilton MSS. 1.
Five shillings boyne siluir … and fyve lang cariages 1581 Reg. Great S. 146/2.
Harrowing, bone scheiring, corne leiding 1581 Ib.
Cum servitiis lie boneservice
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Bone n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/bone_n_1>
