A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1477-1492, 1560-1617
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Actual, adj. Also: actuall, -ale. [e.m.E. actual (ME. actuel from OF.), late L. actuālis.]
1. Actual, real. Also spec. sexual.1477 Peebles B. Rec. 182 (reall, actuall and corporall possession). c1490 Irland Asl. MS. I. 1/10 (all dedly syn actuale).1492 Myll
Spectakle of Luf 277/10 (all beistis efter thair actuall deid is sorrowfull). 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 6104.
Efter that time I do not find nor reid With this woman that he had actual deid 1562-3 Winȝet I. 73/12 (actual sin). 1580 Rec. Convention of Royal Burghs I. 99 (actual residence.). 1617 Acts (ane actuall minister of the kirk).
2. Active; taking part. 1566 Reg. Privy C. I. 456.
All that wer of the devyse, … or actuall at the committing of the slauchtir
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Actual adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/actual>
