A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1375-1420, 1475-1593
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Upwart, -ward, adv. and prep. Also: upwarte, wpwart, upart. [ME and e.m.E. upward (c1175), uppwarrd (Orm), uppard (c1200), vpwarde (Chaucer), vpwart (Caxton), OE upweard.]
A. adv. 1. Of movement, in various senses of Up adv. a. From a lower to a higher point; to or towards a higher position; in an ascending course or direction.(a) 1375 Barb. x 421.
[He] stekyt him wpwart [C. vpward] with a knyff 1375 Barb. x 427.
Wp on the wall he went in hy … And said … 'Spede ȝow wpwart [C. vpward] deliuerly' a1400 Legends of the Saints iii 61.
The young man hynt … 'A wattir crowat' & kist wpwart agane the bles a1400 Legends of the Saints xxxv 150.
Na thi handis sal nocht lyfte Wpwart to God fore thine ofthrifte c1420 Wynt. viii 5595.
Willame off Keth … Wes clymmand wpwart c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace v 147.
A suttell straik wpwart him tuk that tide(b) a1500 Henr. Fab. 2410.
Ȝe man mak help vpwart and it haill a1500 Henr. Fab. 2891.
The mous vpwart, the paddok doun can pres 1528 Lynd. Dreme 377.
Vpwarte throw the fyre we went ?1549 Monro W. Isles (1961) 66.
The deir will be callit upwart ay be tynchellis
b. Pointing up; in an elevated position. a1400 Legends of the Saints i 688.
It is myn will One the croice to be festnyt swa, Myn fet vp-wart
c. With vertical extension up the body. c1510 Prester John 311b.
Monstouris … fra thair myddil vpwart men … & fra thar myddill downwart … lyk hors
d. Up along the ground or the course of a stream.(a) a1578 Pitsc. I 17/22.
Scho … was past ane greit pairt of the watter vpward or euer the keiparis of the castell cuild perceawe thame sellffis disauit 1593 Ayr Chart. 118.
Fra the … ingres of the said watter upwart to the Craigweill of Grenane inclusive(b) 1477 Edinb. Chart. 141.
Fra thine [sc. Liberton's Wynd] vpart to the treves the merket of all cottone claith
e. So as to rise from underground. c1500-c1512 Dunb. (OUP) 4/42.
Now spring up flouris fra the rute, Revert ȝow upwart naturaly
2. To a higher number. 1566 Knox VI 414.
That their steadinges and malinges should be raised from … one ferme to two, and so going upward
B. prep. a. (Uphill) along, towards the upper end of (a road). b. In the direction of or towards the source of (a watercourse). = Up prep. 1 b, c.a. c1420 Wynt. viii 5705.
Wate off Curry … [conwoyit] thame wpwart the gateb. 1553 Protocol Book of R. Lumsdane 15.
Passand vpwart ane watter synk betuix Slewindurry of Gellan and the quhit hillokis of Bogginron
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"Upwart adv., prep.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/upwart>
