A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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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, 1499-1563
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Continence, -tenence, n. Also: contyn-, contin-, contenens. [ME. continens, -tynence (c 1340), etc., OF. continence, L. continentia.] Continence, chastity. a1400 Legends of the Saints xxiv. 8.
Of matrimone … in the stat, Or contenens a1400 Ib. 27.
Contynens als wele he lufyt a1500 Bk. Chess 1706.
In continens this man was so perfyte That hir fairnes avalit nocht a myte c1500-c1512 Dunb. G. Targe 164.
Contenence, Pacience, Gude Fame and Stedfastnes 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 34/28.
Ve adhere nocht to the vertu of temperance ande contenens 1562-3 Winȝet II. 8/14.
A mirrour of al godlines, constance, and continence
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"Continence n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/continence>
