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.
Provocative, -yve, adj. [Late ME prouocatyue noun = anything that excites appetite or lust (c1412), 17th c. Eng. also as adj.] a. Apt to excite lust or sexual appetite. b. Having the quality of giving rise to (a condition). — a1500 Henr. Test. Cress. 226.
Under smyling scho was dissimulait, Prouocative with blenkis amorous 1528 Lynd. Dreme 279.
Off lychorye thay wer the verray luris With thare prouocatyue impudicitie [etc.] Ib. 416.
Scho [Venus] is prouocatyue Tyll all thame that ar subiect to hir cure — 1533 Boece 456b.
This mekillwort … is ane herbe … having liquore provocative to sleip
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"Provocative adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 26 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/provocative>