A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1653-1698
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Mad, Madd, n. [Of obscure origin: ? cf. Maldy n. In the mod. dial. as maud, madd.] ‘A checked plaid or wrap’, appar. chiefly as used as a bed-covering. — 1653 Edinburgh Testaments LXVII. 54 b.
Four pair of scheits, ane meikill old mad, ane old fether bed [etc.] 1660 Melrose Reg. Rec. I. 271.
Scheitts, blanketts, coverings, mads, courtings, and utheris belonging to a plenisched bed 1671 Edinburgh Testaments LXXIV. 144.
Thrie coveringes and tuo maddes v paire of blankets 1696 Peebles B. Rec. II. 155.
Andrew Ewmond … espyed the said William with his mad on his back and somewhat in it 1698 Edinburgh Testaments LXXX. 312.
Ane pair of bed plaids, ane mad, ane sex pair of sheits
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"Mad n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/mad_n>
