A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: <1375, 1375-1535, 1597
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Wath(e, n. and interj. Also: vath(e, waith, wo(u)th, vo(u)th, wot. [ME wath (Cursor M.), wothe (14th c.), ON *wáðe (ONorw., Icel. váðe.] (Exposure to) harm or danger; peril. b. In legal usage: (An accusation of) harm having been done. c. interj. Fie, for shame! 1375 Barb. v 418.
Him thocht weill Giff he had haldyn the castell It had bene assegyt raith, & that him thocht to mekill waith [C. vath] c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace ix 1737.
Fast south thai went; to bid it was gret waith a1400 Legends of the Saints ii 42.
Wath a1400 Legends of the Saints xviii 184.
Vathe a1400 Legends of the Saints xxvii 269.
Angelis … It kepit … Fra wath of watir c1400 Troy-bk. ii 98 (D).
Skathes To hem thruth Troyiens done & wathesb. c1272 Reg. Paisley 52.
Cum omnibus liberatibus, pertinentiis et aisiamentis et placitis de wot, de wrang et hunlaue, cum eorum escaetis 14.. Acts I 378/1.
De wrang et woth [pr. woch] negando. Quicunque fuerit defensor alicuius statim post woth [pr. woch] et wrang et vnlaw debet proponere omnes excepciones suas [etc.] 1597 Skene Verb. S. s.v. Clep.
In pleyis of wrang and vnlaw, in the quhilk clepe, and call, was vsed as ane certaine solemnitie of wordes … as quhen the persewer did clep, & cal, the defender with wouth, wrang, and vnlaw, in harming and skaithing of him of sik ane thing 1597 Skene Verb. S. s.v. Voth.
Voth signifies out-lawrie … Mairover vouth signifies persued, calling, or accusation, from voucher, id est, vocarec. c1520-c1535 Nisbet Matth. xxvii 40.
Vath [W. Vath or fie, P. Vath] to thee c1520-c1535 Nisbet Mark xv 29.
Thai blasphemyt him … sayand, Vath [W. Fyȝ, P. Vath]!
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"Wath n., interj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/wathe>
