A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1986 (DOST Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1456, 1630
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(Positioun,) Posicioun, Position, n. [F. position (14th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), L. positiōn- putting etc., e.m.E. posytyon (c 1500), position.] a. Position, in astrology: ‘the Respect of a Planet in Astrological Figure, to other Planets and Parts of the Figure’ (E. Phillips The new world of English words (1696) s.v., cited in OED). b. A proposition, tenet. — 1456 Hay II 113/15.
Astronomy … is dividit in to thre parties, … in first in the roundnes and in the cercleis motives and in the posicioun of the planetis and situacioun [etc.] 1630 Gordon Geneal. Hist. 363.
Much abhorring ther [the Jesuits'] damnable positions of murthering and dethroning of kings
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"Positioun n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/positioun>
