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: 1460, 1513-1614, 1665
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0]
Conterfait, -feit, -fit(t, v. Also: contyrfait, -fate, -feit, -fyt, conterfyt, -fute; compterfit, compterfute, comterfute. [ME. conter-, contrefete (c 1325), contrefayt (c 1489), etc., variants of Counterfait, -fute v.] tr. To imitate; to counterfeit.(a) c1460 Thewis Wysmen 396.
Of helynes thai pas mesour … And conterfyttis hie gratious c1460 Thewis Gud Wemen 22.
A woman suld … contyrfyt nocht our hie estait 1513 Doug. xiii. Prol. 133.
Fenȝeand hym Iherom to contyrfeit c1530-40 Stewart Bann. MS. 94 b/29.
Sum dois foly conterfeit a1578 Pitsc. I. 138/23.
Ane monk, quho did conterfit mervalus … hollienes of lyfe c1614 Mure Dido ii. 790.
He … cunningly can conterfitt a passion 1665 Lauder Journal 48.
To sie a Frenchman conterfit the Castilian(b) 1513 Doug. i. Prol. 23.
Quhy suld I than … Presume to write … Or contyrfate sa precyus wordys deir? 1513 Ib. iv. ix.
Quhou Dydo queyn … Of enchantment dyd contyrfait the art 1531 Bell. Boece II. 60.
This maner of justice is conterfaitit yit, in our dayis 1581 Acts III. 220/2.
His subiectis of the meane estate presuming to conterfait his hines [in dress](c) 1570 Leslie 76.
He preissit to conterfute ane King of Yngland(d) 1540 Acts II. 378/2.
Forsamekle as diuers wikkit … personis fenȝeis and compterfutis oure souerane lordis money [etc.] 1540 Ib.
All personis … havand fals money or [that] comterfutis the kings irnis of cunȝe a1570-86 Maitland Folio MS xxxiv. 38.
Thair goldsmyth wark it gois so deir, To compterfit grit princis
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Conterfait v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 10 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/conterfait_v>
