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: 1608-1644
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Nurse-father, n. [e.m.E. (1564) and mod. Eng. (1714): cf. Nuris-father, Nurisch-father and e.m.E. nursing-father (1535).] A foster-father. — 1608 James VI in 3rd Rep. Hist. MSS. App. 414/1.
We doe acknowledge ourselves in duty to God bound to be a nursefather to the Church 1609 Id. in Bk. Univ. Kirk III. 1064; etc. 1644 J. Maxwell Sacro-sancta regum ii.
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"Nurse-father n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/nurse_father>
