A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
(Kirk-lafe,) Kirk-leafe, n. In England the names ‘holy bread’, ‘holy loaf’, and ‘church loaf’ (e.m.E. (1499) church loffe), were applied, in the pre-Reformation Church, to the blessed bread distributed to non-communicants after the eucharist, for which a special contribution was paid, and after the Reformation, to the bread provided for communion. — a1628 Carmichael Prov. No. 1761.
Ye are als like to eate the kirk leafe as to pay it
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Kirk-lafe n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 24 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/kirk_lafe>