A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1375, 1438, 1499-1513
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Half-dele, -deil(l, n. and adv. Also: -dell, -deyll. [ME. halfe dele, half delle (1399), f. Half a., Dele n. Cf. Halfindale. In Sc. found only in verse; common in Douglas.] Half.(1) 1375 Barb. xiv. 188.
Bot thai ar nocht … Haif deill ane dyner till vs here 1375 Ib. 497.
But half deill a myle of way Fra the cite ?1438 Alex. ii. 7710.
Me leuer war I mocht resembill him … Than haue half deill this warld 1513 Doug. vi. ix. 212.
All kynd of vicis to comprehend half deill [R. half dele] … I mycht nocht rekkyn(2) a1500 Henr. III. 151/32.
The hair of the hurcheoun nocht half deill hakkit 1513 Doug. ii. ix. 47, 1513 Ib. xii. vi. 117.
Thocht he was halfdeill ded 1513 Ib. vii. ii. 29.
He said na mair bot this, half deil [Sm. half deyll] in bourd 1513 Ib. viii. iv. 182.
That monstruous half deil wilde beiste
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"Half-dele n., adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/half_dele>
