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: 1499-1617
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Temptar(e, Temp(t)er, Tempir, n. [ME and e.m.E. temptour (c1380), tempter (Wyclif).] One, esp. the Devil, who tempts or entices (another) to wrongdoing. a1500 MS Rawl. Q. b. 4 1a.
Ane feynd … principal tempir he may be cald and … his seruandis … throu quham he may men tytest bring … to al maner of wickit vice c1520-c1535 Nisbet Matth. iv 3.
And the temptare com neire, and said to him, Gif thou art Goddis sonn, say that thir stanes be made laves 1533 Gau 95/15.
We haiff iii tempers (and we ar tempit be iii vayis) 1553 Knox III 373.
The tempter durst beir Chryst in hand that he was not the Sone of God a1597-1617 Hist. Jas. VI (1825) 85.
Sa as lucre is and has bene the temptar of many men, sa was she [etc.]
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"Temptar n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/temptare>
