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: 1562-1689
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1]
Clatter, Clattir, n. Also: klattar. [Northern ME. clater, clattur loud talk.] Noisy and idle talk, chatter. In later use commonly in pl.(a) 1562-3 Winȝet II. 24/22.
Amang euery vane clattir of errouris 1562-3 Ib. 29/4.
Quhais prophane vane clattir makis mekle to vngodlines a 1568 Satirical Poems xlvi. 27.
Till deif ȝow with tome clatter, Ar nane sic in the floit as scho 1619 in Calderwood VII. 343.
Ye wold hawe us … abuse it with everie clatter(b) 1562-3 Winȝet II. 10/1.
I hef sein certane clatteris … nameit contumeliouslie … A confutatioun [etc.] c 1575 Annandale Corr. 272.
Your maisterschip swlld nocht haf kasseng ws away for na falls klattaris of them of Cragsburne 1596 Dalr. I. 68/5.
Latting pas thir fables and a hundir sic clattiris 1596 Ib. II. 356/12; etc.
The aduersaris, … spred amang the peple fals rumours and clattiris 1640 Baillie I. 269.
We take it, and many things moe yow will hear, for clatters 1650 Ib. III. 131.
These papers … are a heap of clatters, mere testimonies of late papers … which touch not the present case 1667 Lauderdale P. II. 41.
Yow will no more suffer grundles jealousies nor clatters to draw yow off 1689 Leven & Melv. P. 24.
Thus yow have the common clatters
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Clatter n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 10 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/clatter_n>
