A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1499-1500, 1560-1590
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Symphio(u)n, n. Also: sumphion. [Altered form of ME symphan (Manning), symfan (c1330), e.m.E. cymphan (1509), OF simphoine (OED), f. as Symphony n.] = Symphony n. a. — a1500 Buke of the Sevyne Sagis 2523.
Psaltery symphion & claroun … Befor the barne all playit thai 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 627.
Symphioun 1582 Edinb. B. Rec. IV 564.
Jhonn Robertsoun, thesaurer, to by and delyuer to John Mowatt, blindman, ane symphioun to play vpoun — 1590 Burel Queen's Entry 137.
With instruments melodious, The seistar and the sumphion [etc.]
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"Symphion n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/symphioun>
