A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1400, 1498-1531, 1597-1605
[0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Birn(e, Byrne, n.1 Also: berne. [Contracted from birthen Birthing. Cf. e.m.E. burne.] A burden. Also in comb. birnebeirar. a1400 Legends of the Saints xxxv. 231.
Al my synnis … I band as it a byrne had ben 1498 Aberd. B. Rec. I. 426.
For ane byrne beneth [the Braidgutter] j half penny 1531 Bulloch Pynours 61.
Birnis borne be the pynouris 1597 Misc. Spald. C. I. 190.
He is indyttit … to haue taine ane birne of the corne on his bak and careit it … abowe the hill 1605 Rec. Old Aberd. I. 38.
Give ony birnebeirar beis found taking or beiring his nichtbouris peitis
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Birn n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/birne_n_1>
