A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1420, 1500-1599
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Debonarly, -lie, adv. [ME. debonayrlye, -airliche (c 1430), f. Debonair(e,a. Cf. Debonerly.] Graciously, courteously. a1400 Legends of the Saints xiii. 157.
Ane angel come with gret lycht & confort hyme debonarly a1400 Ib. xliii. 302.
The angel … vald gif hyme his askinge Debonarly but gruching c1420 Wynt. viii. 5203.
The Erle sayd than debonarly, ‘Nay, that is all to hard trewly’ 15.. Clariodus iv. 1942; etc.
Thus raillit he with hir full pleasantlie, And scho him answeir maid debonarlie
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"Debonarly adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/debonarly>
