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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

LEESOME, adj.2 Also leisam, -som(e); leis(s)um (Sc. 1713 Burgh Rec. Gsw. (1908) 498); lessom (Gsw. 1717 in P.B. McNab Hist. Incorp. Gardeners (1903) 31); lesum (Sc. 1782 J. Sinclair Ob. Sc. Dial. 213); leasome and erron. leisin, -on. Lawful, permissible, legitimate. [′lisəm]Sc. 1703 Acts Parl. Scot. XI. 111:
It shall be leisum to Export all sorts of sheeps skins and lamb skins with wool upon them.
Sc. 1713 R. Wodrow Corresp. (1842) I. 510:
It's leesome to the member of a court to protest.
Sc. 1726 Ramsay T.-T. Misc. (1876) I. 187:
Tak hame your wean, make Jenny fain The leel and leesome gate o't.
Ayr. 1792 Burns In Simmer v.:
The tender heart o' leesome loove.
e.Lth. 1885 J. Lumsden Rural Rhymes 63:
That day come soon! his native toon May woo Tyneside wi' leesome pride, An' daur the envious warld to wyte her!
Kcb. 1896 Crockett Grey Man xxvii.:
Never once did we speak of wars and stratagems … but all of friendship … and of leasome love.

[O.Sc. leissum, lawful, from 1466, leifsum, a.1500, Mid.Eng. lefsum, i.e. leave + -Some.]

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"Leesome adj.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/leesome_adj2>

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