A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1990 (DOST Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1644-1645
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Reformeir, -er, -ier, n. and attrib. (Only Sc., put for or corresp. to e.m.E. (once, 1598 in Jonson) and 17th c. Eng. reformado an officer left without a command (owing to the ‘reforming’ or disbanding of his company) but retaining his rank and seniority and receiving full or half pay (OED). Cf. Reformeired,adj.) — 1644 Army of the Covenant I 252.
Moneyis payed to the reformeir officers of the armie. … to Captane Thomas Melvill reformeir half a moneths pay 1644 Mure I xvi n.
For the most part they are reformer officers under the commandment of the Earle of Craufurd and Mackay 1645 Lithgow Siege Newcastle (1820) 25.
Lieutenant Colonell Henderson, a reformier
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"Reformeir n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/reformeir>
