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, 1475-1569
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Erb(e, n. Also: erbb-, eirb. [ME. erbe (Chaucer), OF. erbe; var. of Herb(e.] A herb. a1400 Legends of the Saints xl. 396.
In the ȝarde is nane erbe grene c1420 Wynt. i. 110.
Off arbuste, erbys, … buskis, bankkis, and of bewys c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace iii. 3.
Baith erbe and froyte, busk and bewis 1500 Prestwick B. Rec. 36.
That he … distroyit all the fre menis ȝardis, in caile, erbis & all vthir thair gudis c1500 Rowll Cursing 22.
Blak be thair hour … That brak his ȝaird … And raif his erbis vp be the rute 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 144/35.
There maist delegat refectione was … green frutis, rutis & eirbis 1569 Edinburgh Testaments I. 15.
To Williame Aitkyn for erbbis and vnȝeonis
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"Erb n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/erbe>
