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: 1562-1643
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Quher(e)fra, interrog. and rel. adv. Also: wherefrae. [Cf. late ME (c1449) and e.m.E. wherfro, but (as Quhar(e)fra) appar. chiefly Sc.] = Quhar(e)fra. — 1562 Q. Kennedy Ressoning 1.
Decetfull preachers quhilk gaes about not knowing quherefra they come 1590-1 R. Bruce Serm. 36.
They trouble themselfs meekle concerning the derivation of this name, quherefra this word is driven 1629 Boyd Last B. 97.
They and their complices knew what hee was, and wherefrae hee came 1643 Reg. Privy C. 2 Ser. VIII 66.
Thomas Irwing … being verie seik in Quondale, quherfra he was flitting
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"Quherfra interrog., rel. adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/quherefra>
