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.
Quotation dates: 1776-1828, 1928
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LILLIE, adj. Also lil(l)y. Lovely, beautiful. Liter., esp. in ballads. Comb. lilly-low, in nursery parlance: a bright light or flame, “a bonnie wee low” (Sc. 1880 Jam.). Also in n.Eng. dial. See Lowe.Sc. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs I. 155:
O yield thee to yon braken bush, That grows upon yon lilly lie.Sc. 1800 Thomas Rymer in Child Ballads No. 37 A. xiii.:
And see not ye that braid braid road That lies across yon lillie leven?Sc. 1828 P. Buchan Ballads II. 39:
A lady thro' plain fields was bound, A lily leesome thing.Sc. 1928 J. G. Horne Lan'wart Loon 15:
An' lilly boats gaed snoovin' by, Like cluds athort the simmer sky.
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"Lillie adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/lillie>
