A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2000 (DOST Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Scabrous, Skabrous, adj. [17th c. Eng. scabrous (a1637), F. scabreux (c1500 in Larousse), late L. scabrōsus, L. scabr-, shortened stem of scaber roughly uneven, etc.] a. Rough and uneven in surface. b. Of style: Crude; unpolished. c. Of questions, etc.: Difficult to resolve. — —a. ?1549 Monro W. Isles (1961) 53.
[Ane rockie scabrous iyle callit] … the Gaytis Ile —b. a1585 Polwart Flyt. 25 (T).
Thy raggit roundaillis … Sum … [out] of lyne With skabrous collouris c1590 Fowler II 28/30.
His scabrous compend … did in weary affternoins refresch vs —c. 1643 Rec. Kirk Scotl. 381.
We hope to give light to these scabrous questions 1649 Baillie III 99.
Finding the letter … to be so hask, and the instructions so scabrous, that [etc.]
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Scabrous adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 27 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/scabrous>
