A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1983 (DOST Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1500-1631
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Plicht-ankir, -yr, -er, n. Also: plycht- and -anchor. Only Sc. LG. plicht-anker, Du. plechtanker, the main anchor of a ship, f. ? MLG. plicht, Du. plecht a small deck of an open boat, or ? plicht Plicht n.1] Only fig.: A support or refuge in time of trial or emergency. c1500-c1512 Dunb. G. Targe 187.
Scho tuke Presence plicht ankers [M. ankyr] of the barge c1500-c1512 Ib. xi. 46.
Thy ransonner … Mak thy plycht anker and thy steiris 1533 Boece xv. i. 575. 1551 Hamilton Catechism 153.
Lat this faith be thi plycht ankir c1600 Montg. Suppl. i. 53.
O plicht-anker of constancie 1631 Red. Bk. Menteith II. 137.
If now quhen my plicht anchor is present my sillie bark be schaken with stormes
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"Plicht-ankir n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/plicht_ankir>
