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: 1500-1628
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Neir, Nere, Neer(e, adv. [ME. ner (13th c.), nere, e.m.E. neer (1589), ne'r(e (1606), contracted form of Never adv.] Never. a1568 Dunb. Bannatyne MS 133 b/21.
Thy trublit gaist sall neir moir be degest [etc.] a1570-86 Id. Maitland Folio MS clxi. 27.
Scho preissit neir for to defend hir a1540 Freiris Berw. 334 (B).
My hairt neir [M. My hart will never] be haill Bot gif [etc.] 1540 Lynd. Sat. 2916 (Ch.).
It had been gude that Paull had neir bene borne 15.. Clariodus ii. 164.
Fra laughter then ilk ane could neer devall 1581-1623 James VI Poems I. 75/25.
For thais [words] quhilkis are cuttit short I meane be sic wordis as thir, Iis neir cair for I sall neuer cair, gif [etc.] 1610 Misc. Hist. Soc. II. 210.
This band … wes maid … be manie of the nobilitie … neir to this day suspectit … as guiltie 1626 Garden Worthies 113.
Sall they [sc. the Spanish] nere desist from [etc.] 1628 Mure Spirituall Hymne 101.
Heaven's glorious courts had neere encrest
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"Neir adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Jul 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/neir>
