A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1496-1540, 1611-1612
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Hedetow, Hed-tow, Heid-toll, n. [Hede n.1 12 b. Cf. MDu. and MLG. hovettouwe.] Head-rope, a head-rope. a. Of a tent. b. Part of the rigging of a ship. — 1496 Treasurer's Accounts I. 291.
For xxxiij fadowme of hedetow 1496 Ib. 293.
For viij fawdom of tow to be a hed tow for the kingis hall 1540 Acts Lords of Council MS. XIV. 152.
The heid tollis, crocis, and takle [of a fishing vessel] a 1612 J. Melville Celeusma Naut. MS.
With this heid tollis began to clatter, And doun the stormes could blatter
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Hedetow n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/hedetow>
