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: 1499-1512, 1567-1614, 1681
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Hirpil, Hirpl-, v. [Of obscure origin; current also in later Sc. and north. Eng. dialects.] intr. To walk lamely, to limp. Freq. in the part. adj. hirpland, -ling. a1500 Henr. Fab. 895.
The … hurcheoun and the hirpland [H. hirpilland] hair a1500 Ib. 2247.
Than sone the wolf come hirpilland in his gait c1500-c1512 Dunb. Flyt. 179.
Hard hurcheoun, hirpland, hippit as ane harrow a1568 Bannatyne MS 156 a/41.
The (h)air come hirpland to the toun c1614 Mure Dido & Æneas ii. 467.
The hydra, and the hirpling hare 1681 Colvil Whig's Suppl. i. 36.
Priests … , Hirpling through the streets like criples
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"Hirpil v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/hirpil>
