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: 1609, 1684-1694
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Tarpoill, Tarpallie, Tarpallion, Tar pullione, n. [17th c. Eng. tarpauling (1605), tarpawlin (1647), tarpalin (1652); Tar n. and Pal(l n. or Paill n.1] A tarred sheet of canvas, a tarpaulin. — 1609 Kirkcudbr. B. Rec. II 50.
vj tarpoillis he borrowit fra the said Robert or iiij s. for ilk pece therof 1684 Misc. Bann. C. III 341.
For the tarpallion carried to Scotland to cover over all the pictors in the ship to keip them dry £2 5 s. 1689 Reg. Privy C. 3 Ser. XIII 491.
To furnish … four hundred bandeleers, with tarpallies and basketts for cannon bullets 1694 Dumfr. & Galloway Soc. 3 Ser. XXXIII 137.
For elevin ells of tweill for tar pulliones att 2 penie pr. ell
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"Tarpoill n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/tarpoill>
