A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1490
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Hel(e)-, Heil(e)ful(l, a. [ME. (chiefly north.) helefull (c 1340).] Health-giving, healing, salutary; healthy. — a1400 Legends of the Saints xxvi. 582.
Oyle … That helful wes til al sare thing a1400 Ib. xxxiv. 206.
The bischope … Iniungit hyr heileful pennance a1400 Ib. xxxvi. 456.
He gef til al Heilful consel 1424 Acts II. 8/1.
Specale prayeris for the … heleful estate of our lorde the King c1450-2 Howlat 30.
Helpe to hert and to hurt heilfull it was c1490 Irland Asl. MS. I. 16/18.
The helfull and glorius medicyne … of the passioun of Jhesu
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"Heilful adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/heilefull>
