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: 1450-1550, 1604-1605
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Bitterly, Bittirly, adv. Also: bitterlie. [ME. bitterly, bytterly, bitterrliȝ (c 1200), OE. biterlíce, Icel. bitrliga.] With bitterness; severely.1456 Hay I. 30/15 (Romaynes bitterly will bakbyte). c1450-2 Howlat 811 (the barde bitterly couth ban). c1460 Wisdom of Solomon 828 (the angell sal bitterly gret). a1500 Henr. Test. Cress. 19 (the blastis bitterly come quhisling). c1550 Rolland Court of Venus i. 708 (in baill sa bitterlie thé band). a1605 Montg. Flyting 293 ( … full bitterly they ban).
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Bitterly adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/bitterly>
