Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1700
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†PARDONER, n. Sc. usage: a term of reproach, “scoundrel”, “villain”, “cheat”, from the detestation felt for Roman Catholic functionaries in post-Reformation Scotland. Also attrib.Abd. c.1700 W. Cramond Grange (1895) 24:
One [inhabitant of Grange] calls another a “pardoner”, “a vile pardoner”, “a pardoner scold quean”, the curious thing being that in all my researches it is only in Grange that “pardoner” is so common or that the phrase lived so long. This shows at least their connection with the monks of Kinloss and the old Roman Catholic times.
