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: 1446-1447, 1499-1500
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Lait, Lat(e, v. [North. and north midl. ME. lait (Cursor Mundi), layt(e, latt, late (15th c.), ON. leita. Also in the later north. Eng. dial. as lait, layt, late etc.] tr. To seek, look for. — a 1447 Bower Scotichron. xiv. xxxi. (1759) II. 376.
The unlatit woman the licht man will lait a1500 Golagros and Gawane 883.
Lechis war noght to lait a1500 Taill of Rauf Coilȝear 857.
‘I haue na lyking to lyfe to lat thé with lufe’ a1500 Henr. Fab. 734.
As he was thus … Luikand about his leuing for to lait [: bait, gait; B. late]
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"Lait v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/lait>
