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: 1597-1606, 1662-1697
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Nip(p, n. [e.m.E. (1549), f. Nip(p,v.] A nip, a pinch. b. Dead nip, an insensitive or deadened patch of skin and flesh caused by a nip. c. A portion such as may be or has been removed by pinching; a piece, fragment, morsel. — 1597 Misc. Spald. C. I. 165.
The devill gaf thé a nip on the bak of thy richt hand for a mark that thow was ane of his numer 1597 Ib. 172.b. 1697 Witchcraft Proven in Cardross Ch. 62.
The first whereof is the insensible or dead nip of a blew colour somewhat hardc. 1606 Rollock's Thess. 140 (Jam.).
If thou hast not laboured … looke that thou put not a nip in thy mouth 1662 Highland P. III. 19.
[She] did … dreame that Kat. Moore … took a great nipp out of her pape
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"Nip n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/nipp_n>
