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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
ONSLA, n. Also conflated form onsla-sault [ < onsla + assault].
1. An onslaught, assault.Edb. 1846 W. Tennant Muckomachy 11, 57:
Whilk fir'd them a' For that on-sla . . . Thence to have amplest sweep o' ground For onsla-sault and doughty deeds.
2. A great multitude or flock (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928)).
[Etym. rather doubtful. In 1. prob. a nonce reduction of onslaught, Du. aanslag, attack, attempt, in 2. phs. an extended meaning of the latter, as a later direct borrowing from Du. See note to Onslaucht below.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Onsla n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 28 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/onsla>
