A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1420, 1474, 1550-1626
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(Maidin-,) Madin-barn(e, n. Also: maidyne-, maydyn-, madyn(e-, maden-, madane-, medin- and -bairn(e, -berne. [North. ME. maiden barn (Cursor M.).] A female child. = Maidin-child n., Maidin n. 1 c. a1400 Legends of the Saints xxvi. 1026.
Othir a madyne-barne or a knaf c1420 Wynt. ii. 563.
All the madyne [C. maydyn] barnys 1474 Misc. Spald. C. V. 23.
Ilk madyn barne 1550 Protocol Book of Sir John Cristisone 100.
[The] thre madane barnis 1568 St. A. Kirk S. 306, 1584 Ib. 522, etc. 1570 Leslie 166.
That the Quene … wes deliverit of ane maden barne 1584 Coll. Aberd. & B. 630.
Gif it was ane medin berne 1586 Edinburgh Testaments XVI. 128.
My aucht bairnis, to wit thre men children and fyve maden barnis 1586 Haddington B. Rec. (Robb) 12 April.
That Marion Lindsay … be admittit to teich the madin barnis 1598 Aberd. B. Rec. II. 171.
Maidyne bairnis 1614 Criminal Trials III. 270.
Ane quik madin bairne 1626 Justiciary Cases I. 53.
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"Madin-barn n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Jul 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/madin_barne>
