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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

†GRAVIL, n. The plant gromwell, genus Lithospermum, the hard seeds of which were formerly used in medicine to procure abortion.Sc. c.1820 Tam-a-Line in Trad. Ballad (Percy Soc. 1845) 14:
O! why pou ye the pile, Margaret? The pile o' the gravil green, For to destroy the bonny bairn That we got us between.

[Corrupt form of graymill (Fr. grémil), through influence of gravel, a complaint which used to be treated by the plant-seeds. O.Sc. has gravell (seid), 1646.]

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