A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1420, 1499-1513, 1604-1605
[0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Dismall, n. Also: dysemale, dysmel(l, -mall, dismaille, -male. [ME. dismale (c 1300), -malle, etc., OF. dis mal, L. diēs malī.] a. Unlucky days. b. An evil being, a fiend. c. An unlucky person. d. ? Melancholy, hypochondria. c1420 Wynt. v. 1922.
Hyr byrth sall brew ws mekyll bale. That howre fell in the dysemale [C. dismaille] Quhen scho consaywyd a1500 Prestis of Peblis 416.
How sould he kyth mirakil and he sa euil? Neuer bot by the dysmel or the Deuil 1513 Doug. v. iv. 15.
Quhar, dysmall [Sm. dismale], wilt thow now? gan Gyas cry a1605 Montg. Flyt. 309 (T).
The doyt and the dysmell [v.r. dismall, -mail], indifferentlie delt
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Dismall n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/dismall_n>
