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: 1494
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Pikan(t, Pickand, n. [F. piquant ppl. a., also used as noun, f. piquer to prick, sting. Cf. Piking a.] A prickle; a thorn; a spike. — 1494 Loutfut MS. 19 a.
The herichon … is … armyt … with spines thornys or pickandis 1494 Ib. 33 a.
Pikans — 1494 Ib. 37 a.
Nan bure the mollet in his spur bot he war noble bot bure a litill pickand [etc.] — 1494 Ib. 40 a.
The hawthornes … has foissoun of scharp pikantes
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"Pikan n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 10 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/pikant_n>
