A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1983 (DOST Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1460, 1569-1693
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Partitio(u)n, n. Also: partish-. [e.m.E. and ME. partition (1551), -cion (1509), -cioune (Lydgate), F. partition (14th c.), -cion (12th c.), L. partītio.]
1. a. The act of dividing landed property into shares. = Partising n. 1. 1569 Canongate Ct. Bk. 93.
Ane lettre of partitioun and divisioun of thair land 1580 Inverness Rec. I. 278.
That ane equall partitioun and dewyding aucht to be tane
b. The division (of a word into syllables). c1616 Hume Orthog. 17.
Quhen a word fales to be divyded at the end of a lyne … the partition must be made at the end of a syllab
2. Only Sc.: Divorce, separation. = Partising n. 2. c1460 Alex. (Taym.) 8438.
And ofter men findis caus of partitioun a1597-1617 Hist. Jas. V1 (1825) 41.
The proces of partitioun betuix hir and the Erle Bothuell
3. a. A structure that divides (a building or part of one) into parts; a screen, a partition. b. Partition-wall, id.a. c1590 Fowler II. 180/7. c1590 Ib. 182/11.
In the middest of the chappell royallwithin the partition … there was a newe pulpite erected 1693 Foulis Acc. Bk. 158.
For carieing up my letterene and partitions and saits from the chamber to our houseb. 1648 Dunferm. Kirk S. 26.
To Jon Potter for making the twa partishn wals … to the comunion yet
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"Partition n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/partitioun>
