A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1500-1535, 1639-1651
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Gape, Gaip, n. [f. Gapev. In e.m.E. (1658, 1660), but not common till after 1700.] a. An act of gaping. b. A gap. —a. c1500-c1512 Dunb. xxvi. 100.
Drynk, ay thay cryit, with mony a gaip [M. gape] 1535 Stewart 58108.
With mony girne and gaip He [the fox] makis debait als lang as that he mayb. 1531 Bell. Boece I. 287.
The merkat gait of London raif with ane huge gaip, and mony housis beside sank c1639 Mure Ps. cvi. 23.
Moses, them to free, Did in the gape himselff present 1651 Comm. Gen. Assembly III. 479.
To make and wyden a gape in the Kirk which is not easily closed
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"Gape n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/gape_n>
