Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

TRATE, n. Also tre(i)t (Cai.). Orig. an ointment spread on cloth, now specif. the cloth itself, specif. a strip of linen or cotton, dipped in a mixture of beeswax, etc., and lard or mutton fat and used as a dressing for sores or boils (Kcd. 1921 T.S.D.C.; Cai., Fif. 1958), also in comb. trate-claith. [tret]Fif. 1882 S. Tytler Sc. Marriages III. ix.:
A bit ‘trate-claith' (a mysterious Scotch preparation of calico, beeswax and lard, applied as a sovereign remedy for every description of hurt).Cai. 1916 John o' Groat Jnl. (7 April):
Sometimes the “croytal” or yellow growth on old dykes was boiled in “rynded fat,” then strained; old cotton rags were put in the mixture, and bits of this known as “treits” were applied to sores of all kinds.