Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
EVENLY, Evinly, adj. Applied to the surface of the ground, etc.: smooth, even, level (Ags.19, Arg.3 1950). Also used fig.Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems II. 89:
Then Poets shaw'd these evenly Roads, That lead to Dwellings of the Gods.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
Thus we speak of . . . an evinly course both as respecting progress in a journey, and the tenor of one's conduct.Rnf. a.1874 J. M. Neilson in Poets of the Lennox (1889) 284:
On their fair chubby faces we see Sic' an evenly sweetness o' rest.
Hence (1) evenlier, more even (Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl. Ant. and Dwn.); (2) evenliness, fig., composure, calm, equanimity.(2) Ayr. 1889 H. Johnston Glenbuckie xxii.:
He would pass the contemplative night wandering over the familiar grassy mounds with a fair degree of mental evenliness.
