A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1990 (DOST Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1420-1456, 1540, 1603-1648
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Rift, Ryf(f)t, n.2 [f. as Rift v.2 Cf. e.m.E. rift n. (1570).] A breaking (of wind); a belch; a fart. c1420 Wynt. v 524.
Quhen men suld lat ga Owte off thare bodyis ryfftys off wynd, At mowth before, or than behynd c1420 Ib. 528.
A man … Forbare for tyll lat owt the wynd, Wyth ryfft before, or blyst behynd 1456 Hay II 119/34.
He … oft tymis … bolkis, with hevy suollyn eyne with stynkand ryftis 1540 Lynd. Sat. 4359.
Scho puft and ȝiskit with sic riftis 1603 Philotus 287.
His filthsum flewme is nathing fair, Ay rumisching with rift and rair ?a1648 Polemo-Middinia 93.
Grandesque ad sidera riftos Barmifumi attollunt
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"Rift n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/rift_n_2>
