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.
Quotation dates: 1826-1845
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EXPENSIVE, adj. Sc. usage: extravagant (Sh.10, Abd.27, m.Lth.1, Peb.2 1950). Obs. in Eng. since 18th cent.Sc. 1826 Scott Journal (ed. J. G. Tait 1939) 153–4:
And becoming there in possession of a large estate . . . he had the means of being very expensive, and probably then acquird those gay habits which rendered him averse to serious business.Sc. 1827 Scott Chrons. Canongate, Croftangry iv.:
There was some warrant for a man being expensive that imagined he was making a mint of money.Sc. 1845 T. Carlyle Cromwell (1846) I. 31:
Sir Oliver, likewise an expensive man.
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"Expensive adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/expensive>
