Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)

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Mede, Meid(e, n.³ [ME. med(e, meed, e.m.E. mead, OE. mǽd str. fem. (Angl. méd), oblique case mǽdwe (see Medow n.).]An early instance is the place-name Holemede in c 1200 Liber Melros I. 131.

A meadow.Only in verse. Applied more or less vaguely to any stretch of open grassy ground, such as the setting of allegorical dreams or a field of combat. Also in plur. without obvious distinction of sense.The rhyming words include (1) (on) breid, ded (= deed), spreid, steid (= steed), womanheid, ȝeid p.t., and plur. redis (= reeds), spredis, thredis, wedis: see below. (2) deid (= dead) (Bell. Boece I. vii), heid (= head) (Ib.), leid (= people) (Gol. & Gaw. 176), theid (= people, country) (Ib.).sing. ?1438 Alex. i. 1860.
His lenth he mesurit in the meid [: ȝeid] ?1438 Ib. ii. 1452.
Endlang the meid [: steid (= horse)] c1450-2 Howlat 2.
Till a grene meid [: on breid, fairhed, godhed] a1500 Golagros and Gawane 24, 176. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace viii. 1190.
In euery meide, bathe fyrth, forrest and daill a1500 Bk. Chess 2008. c1500-c1512 Dunb. Tua Mar. W. 2, 514. 1501 Doug. Pal. Hon. iii. 141.
Amid the meid repleit with sweit odouris 15.. Clariodus i. 1398. a1568 Bannatyne MS 222 a/7.
Trewth and womanheid Springyth in ȝow as flouris in the meid 1580 Hume Promine 77.
Flouris for to spreid. Nicelie enamaling mony mirthfull meidplur. ?1438 Alex. ii. Prol. 1.
In mery May quhen medis springis a1500 Golagros and Gawane 851.
Thir mailyeis with melle thay merkit in the medis [: vedis (= weeds, garments)] c1500-c1512 Dunb. G. Targe 55.
Vnto the blomyt medis [: wedis, spredis, thredis] 1513 Doug. xii. Prol. 151.
Maist amyabill wolxis the amerant medis [: redis] 1513 Ib. xiii. Prol. 9. c1552 Lynd. Mon. 1523.
The feildis greine and fluryst meidis [: weidis]