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: 1450-1535
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Ter(e, Tur, adj. Also: teir(e, teyr. [ME tor (Orm), toor (c1350), tere (a1400), toure (c1400), ON, OE tor- hardly, with difficulty.] a. Irksome, tedious. b. Distressing. c. Tough.a. c1450-2 Howlat 421 (B).
It wer tere [pr. lere; A. tyrefull] for to tell … All thair deir armes 1456 Hay I 55/12.
All the bataillis … that thare befell it war tere to tell a1500 Golagros and Gawane 898.
Alse ter for to tell the travalis war tight(b) c1450-2 Howlat 578 (A).
The order of thar armes it war to tell teire 1460 Hay Alex. 1870.
Teire a1500 Taill of Rauf Coilȝear 474.
The teind of his iewellis to tell war full teir 1450-1510 Gray MS vi 54.
Teyrb. 1461 Liber Pluscardensis I 382.
Syn to discende in tygglande teris tere 1513 Doug. xi Prol. 197.
And for sa schort renown … To susteyn weir and panys teyr ontaldc. 1535 Stewart 10534.
Thow … art sa doggit and sa dour, Cruell and kene, sa tur in mynd and sour
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"Ter adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/tere_adj>
