A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1596-1610
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Naife, Naive, a. [F. naïf, fem. naïve: cf. e.m.E. naif(e (c 1655), naïve (1654).] Natural in manner, simple, unaffected. — 1596 J. Galloway in M. Napier Mem. J. Napier (1834) 296.
Naither too spair and restrained nor yit too large and dissolute, both not affectat bot naturall and naife 1600-1610 Melvill 75.
[He] was nocht rustic nor auster, bot sweit and affable … with a modest and naive gravitie
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"Naife adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/naife>
