A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1400, 1583-1629
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Locht, Lucht, n. Also: (lochet). [Ir. Gael. lucht, gen. lochta, luchta, luicht, contents, load (Hessen), full portion, contents or load, cargo, batch, lot (Dinneen), Sc. Gael. luchd burden, load, cargo (Dwelly).]
1. ? The full contents of a vessel, whole cargo of a boat, or the like, or ? a complete batch of a commodity; ? hence fig., the whole of a body of knowledge.If so, not an accurate repr. of the Latin, which has summum philosophiæ apicem apprehendit. — a1400 Legends of the Saints xxi. 150.
He hym gaf To get sciens oure the lawe, & thare-in sat sa hale his thocht That he thareof wane the locht
2. The quantity of a commodity which a boat can carry in one trip, a boat-load. b. fig.(a) 1617 Master of Works Accounts (ed.) II. 33.
To James Ferrier for fraucht of his boitt for ilk locht of 13 lochtis lyme with the drink ix li. 1617 Ib.
To aucht wemen for bearing up of thrie locht of lyme and sand laid within the castell in poikis with thair drink at xx s. ilk locht 1617 Ib. 36.
For a locht of lyme being 3 chalderis and for leading thairof 1617 Ib.
For bringing of a locht of cunyeis out of Inschinnen 1618 Ib. i 13.
To the boittmen for bringing them [half a hundereth draucht of wall stane] hame being tua locht 1618 Ib. 117.(b) 1592–3 Ayr B. Acc. 178.
For 11 lucht of the gobar … £24 1629 Master of Works Accounts (ed.) II. 117.
Ane bot lucht [of lime] being fyve chalderb. 1583 Sempill Sat. P. xlv. 144.
Ben ower the barr he gave a brocht And laid among them sic a lochet … He hosted thair a hude full fra him
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"Locht n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 12 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/locht_n>


