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: 1420
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(Lither-,) Lythyrnes, Lethir-, n. [ME. (north.) lythernes, (west midl. and south.) luþernesse (a 1240), wickedness, e.m.E. liddyrnes, lether- (1570), lithernesse laziness, sloth etc. Cf. also Liddernes] Slackness, want of spirit or energy. —c1420 Wynt. vi. 355.
Quhether he war worth till hawe the crown That had … the renowne Off manhad [etc.] … Or he that lay in lythyrnes [C. lethirnes] Worth to nakyn besynes
