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: 1619-1638
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Tickle, v. [ME and e.m.E. tikelle (Manning), ticle (1542), tickle (1557).] tr. a. To tickle = Kittil(l v. 1. b. To stir, stimulate, ? vex. Also const. up. = Kittil(l v. 2. —a. 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1671) 139.
It is as natural … as to laugh when we are tickled —b. 1619 Gen. Assembly Perth 55.
This outward conformity tickleth the papist, and offendeth the godly 1638 Henderson Serm. 285.
It tickles them up to go on, to say this
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"Tickle v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/tickle_v>
