A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1500-1627
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Dern(e, Darn(e, adv. [ME. and OE. derne.] Secretly; in secret or concealment. 1513 Doug. ii. xi. 113.
I … hyd thame darn within a valy deip 1513 Ib. vii. Prol. 68; etc.
The deyr full dern doun in the dalis drew 15.. Clariodus iii. 718.
Quhen scho hard ocht steiring hir besyde lnto ane busch full darne scho wald hir hyde 1595 Criminal Trials I. iii. 353.
To ly derne and quiet thair, quhill he micht find the commoditie to murdreis Hucheona1627 Craig v. 5/27.
I drew me darne to the doore, … And as I lent to my lug, this well I heard
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Dern adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/derne_adv>
