A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1983 (DOST Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1460-1628
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Oursile, -syle, -syll, v. Also: oure-, owr-, ore-; p.p. -silit, -sylit, -sild, -syld; ourslyde (erroneous form). [Our adv. and Sile v. (to cover). Cf. Oversile v.] tr.
1. To cover, obscure, conceal. a. lit. b. transf. and fig.a. 1461 Liber Pluscardensis I. 383.
Owre syle the sone with myst and with merknes' c1460 Alex. (Taym.) 18543.
Als sone the sone made clipping general y … And was oure silit with ane selcuth hew a1500 Henr. Orph. 170 (B).
Phebus … Lat nocht thy face with cluddis to be oursyld 1513 Doug. vi. ix. 46.
Tysiphone … In bludy caip revestit and oursild a1570-86 Maitland Folio MS lix. 2.
Phebus in the ranie clude Oursylit had the bemes brichtb. a1500 Henr. III. 168/79 (B).
Quha ma releif ws ocht … bot thow our syn oursyll? a1499 Contemplacioun of Synnaris 1347 (Harl.).
As the modir … With sum sour sals hir pape scho will ourplant The barne refus sic suetenes sa oursyld [Asl. ourslyde] a1500 King Hart 733.
My solace sall I sleylies thus our-syle
2. To dim, dull, impair (the mental or spiritual sight). 1540 Lynd. Sat. 1616 (B).
I am sa constant … Na bud nor favour ma my face oursyle [Ch. oversyle] c1590 Fowler I. 238/3.
My daisled eyis by sorrows ar oursyld a1605 Montg. Ch. & Slae 399 (L).
Fuill haist … Ouresyllis the sycht of sum 1628 Mure Spirituall Hymne 123.
O sauing knowledge which … The deepest polititan's sight Oresyles
b. To deceive, ‘hoodwink’ (a person). a1568 Scott iii. 40.
Maist witt hes hie that moniest owrsylis
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"Oursile v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/oursile>
