A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1986 (DOST Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1420, 1490-1678
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Posterité, -itie, n. Also: posther- and -ity, -yté, -ietie; -aty. [ME and e.m.E. posterite (Trevisa), -itee, -itie, -ytie, F. postérité (14th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), L. posteritās condition of coming after, after-time, posterity, f. poster-us coming after.]
1. (One's) posterity; the descendants, collectively, of a common ancestor.Also plur.(a) c1420 Wynt. vii 2353.
The pape … made new feftment, Till hym and hys posteryte [: be] c1420 Ib. ii 756; iv 1778; vi 2272. 1490 Irland Mir. I 84/16.
And paradice was gevin to Adam and his linage and posterite 1490 Ib. 87/2. 1513 Doug. i xi 79.
To our successioun and posterite 1513 Ib. iii vii 63.
And this sam lyge with our posterite [etc.] 1513 Ib. vi xiii 5.
And quhat successioun or posterite Of Ital frendschip sal discend of thé 1513 Ib. viii xii 144.
The … hie renownye Or gloryus iestis of hys postheryte 1531 Bell. Boece I 27.
Quhais [the Brigands'] posterite grew sa full of fury, that [etc.] 1531 Ib. 25. 1533 Boece 70.
Making mayne … that … all the posterite of Scottis blude in Albion and thare name tendit to fynale rewyne 1533 Ib. 135 b.
And the posterite following the maternale toung, forȝetting the faderis langage, [etc.] 1533 Ib. 51. 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 144/32.plur. 1612 Douglas Corr. 375.
Sa lang as our houssis and posteriteis shall lest(b) c1552 Lynd. Mon. 5068.
Quhow thay, and thare posteritie, Wer all condampnit, for to dee 1556 Lauder Off. Kings 271.
Ȝour seid and ȝour posteritie Sall, efter ȝow, ryng happelie 1562-3 Winȝet I 5/4.
Ȝour solicitude be mariage efter to haif brocht the baronis to be impis of ȝour [sc. the bishops'] posteritie 1562-3 Ib. 115/10.
Quhidder cumis it … that mony desyris the kirk landis … to be appropriat to the croun or to the first fundatouris posteritie? 1567 Hosack Mary Q. of Scots I 559.
Hir grace … regarding the … continewance of hir posteritie hes condescendit thairto 1563-1570 Buch. Wr. 36. a1578 Pitsc. I 43/3.
Posterietie a1578 Ib. 20/8; 243/32, etc. a1570-86 Maitland Folio MS clxx 141.
[God will] propagat sa ȝour posteritie [: seueritie, prosperitie, sinceritie] Frome sone to sone as He did Sarais seid a1585 Maitland Quarto MS lxi 24. 1585 Acts III 397/2.
Tuitching the disheredatioun of the posteritie alsweill lauchfull as naturall of the said James 1597 Ib. IV 128/2.
Great … causis of treassoun quhilk concernis lyfe, landis, gudis and extirping of the posteritie 1616 Reg. Privy C. X 656.
A foull … spott upoun thame, thair housis, and posteritie 1622-6 Bisset II 174/16. 1662 Criminal Trials III 618.
And thair meall-children and posteritie 1670 Boyd Fam. P. No. 304 a (8 Nov.).
Quhat God will permite me to doe for my awne preservatiowne and my posterities(c) 1676 Douglas Corr. 278.
Posteraty
2. Chiefly the posterite: The generations to come; succeeding generations; posterity. Also plur. in same sense.(1) c1420 Wynt. i 242.
He gert … All the art of musyke wryte Swa that it mycht haldyn be Wnfaylland in posteryte 1644 Buch. in Knox II 467.
To shew … how farre his thoughts were bussied upon the good of posteritie(2) 1533 Boece 72.
The feild, quhare was the batell gevin, to the posterite is namyt Redirdaill 1533 Ib. 601 b. 1533 Ib. 602. 1581 Reg. Privy C. III 383.
Ony formall order … likly to have continewance to the posteritie 1584 Acts III 296/2. a1599 Rollock Wks. I 406.
Bot Paull suld have thocht schame to registrate … his awin schame to the posteritie to cum 1622-6 Bisset II 187/25.
That the posteritie heireftir … may knaw how cairfull [etc.] 1638 Nat. Covenant in Facs. Nat. MSS. III xcvii.
For the common happinesse of ourselves and the posteritie a1652 Dickson Psalms (1653) 337.
Though the observation of the folly of predecessours should make the posterity wise [etc.] 1678 J. Brown Hist. Indulgence (1783) 176.
And the posterity will think [etc.](3) plur. 1560 Cal. Sc. P. I 548.
[Whereby you may … profit the] posteriteis to cum 1563 Reg. Privy S. V i 396/2.
That the memorie … may remane to the posteriteis to cum 1596 Dalr. I 334/19.
To leiue sum monument till all posterities following 1598 James VI Basil. Doron 184/10. 1600 Colville Palinode 5.
Samuel … hes left to all posterities an indenyable testimonie
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"Posterité n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/posterite>
