A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1400-1460, 1551, 1638, 1690
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Subtractioun(e, Substractio(u)n(e, n. Also: substraccion. [Late ME and e.m.E. subtraccion (c1425), subtraction (1534), substraction (1596), OF subtraction (c1155 in Larousse), MF subtraction (c1370 in Larousse), late L. subtractiōn-, med. L. substraction- (1370 in Latham); Subtract v. a. To mak subtractioun, to withdraw, withhold (one's allegiance or obedience). b. Withdrawal, removal (of a thing from a place). c. The withdrawing or withholding of (something intangible). d. The taking away of one thing from a larger amount or quantity, or an instance of this.a. c1420 Wynt. ix 2064.
Parys and that natioune That yere maid substractioune [C. substraccion] [sc. from obedience to Pope Benedict XIII at Avignon] 1460 Hay Alex. 2708.
Quhill baith the princis and the hale commone Mycht send to Dare to mak subtractioun And draw fra him all hale obeysanceb. c1400 Troy-bk. ii 369.
He … Hath graunted the subtractioune Of that relyk of gret renowne To Anthenorc. 1551 Hamilton Catechism 33.
Nocht onlie the Gentilis was strikin with this plaige of subtractioun of grace bot alswa the Jewisd. 1638 Kirkcaldy Presb. 123.
The Service Book of England is so abused … by additions, substractions, interchangeing of words and sentences [etc.] 1690 Hawick Arch. Soc. (1917) 15.
Substraction is to draw a small sume from a great
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"Subtractioun n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/subtractioune>
