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: 1475-1513
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Flotter, Floter, v.1 [e.m.E. flotre, ME. floter, OE. flotorian.] intr. To float awkwardly; to flounder. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace vii. 1056.
Sum lap, sum fell, sum floteryt in the se c1475 Ib. 1210.
vij thousand large at anys flottryt in Forth 1501 Doug. Pal. Hon. iii. viii.
Innumerabill folk I saw flotterand in feir, Quhilk pereist on the walterand wallis weir 1513 Id. Æn. iv. Prol. 164.
Thow ald hasart lychour, That flotteris furth euermair in sluggardry
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"Flotter v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/flotter_v_1>
