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: 1438-1597
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Middil(l, Mid(d)le, n. Also: middell, myddil(l, -yll, mydell, myd(d)le. [ME. midle, ME. and OE. middel.]
The ‘middle’ of the human body, the waist. ?1438 Alex. ii. 2399, 3862.
The only Sc. use of this noun. Hir middle small a1500 Henr. Test. Cress. 180. a1500 Id. III. 103/22. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace vii. 307.
The myddyll off ane he mankit ner in twa c1500-c1512 Dunb. G. Targe 63.
With … mydlis small as wandis 1513 Doug. ii. iv. 31.
Thai … twys cyrkyllit his myddil [Sm. myddle] rownd about 1513 Ib. xii. v. 132. c1510 Prester John 311 b.
Fra thar myddill downwart 1531 Bell. Boece I. 177. 1535 Stewart 214. 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 11/29. 1570 Leslie 59. 1596–7 Misc. Spald. C. I. 88, etc.
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"Middil n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/middill_n>
