A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1533-1596
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Detract, Detrack, v. [ME. detract (c 1449), L. dētract-, ppl. stem of dētrahere, or dētractāre.]
1. tr. To disparage, depreciate, calumniate. 1533 Gau 91/19.
Lat wsz forgiff thayme quhilk detrackis and spekis euil of wsz 1560 Rolland Seven Sages To Reidar 28.
Beseiking ȝow … Not to detract, nor ȝit ouir hie to ruse it a1568 Wedderburn Bannatyne MS 241 b/150.
Thay do le and bakbytt, Detractand honest wemen day and nicht 1570 Satirical Poems xii. 112.
Quhy stand ȝe aw of tratouris twyse detractit [: bakit, lakit] 1587 Misc. Bann. C. I. 111.
Vnderstanding my selff to haiff bene injustlie detractit and calumniat be malicious persouns
2. To decline, refuse to fall in with. 1596 Dalr. II. 462/19.
Gif the Catholickis now religiouslie detract [L. detrectent] this mater
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Detract v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/detract>
