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A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)

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First published 2000 (DOST Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Scat(e, Scait, n. Also: skat; skait(t, skaite, skay(i)t; sket(t; skeitt, skeite, skeat; schayt. [ME and e.m.E. schat (c1340), scate (c1375), schate (c1475), skete (1538), ON skata.] A skate, the large flat-fish; skate's flesh, for use as food. In pl., inflected and, chiefly, uninflected. Also attrib. and comb.sing. and uninfl. pl. 1516 Fam. Rose 189.
Ane hundreth herd scat 1517 Misc. Spald. C. II 79.
Ane hundreth scat, price iij lib. 1556 Old Ross-shire I 15.
[Alexander Innes is entitled to] a pennyworth of fish of every fish boat thereof viz. 12 small fish for a penny or scate for a plack a1688 Wallace Orkney 17.
In the sea they catch … whitting, mackrel, turbot, scate [etc.](b) c1500 Rowll Cursing 119 (M).
And sum with rumpillis lyk ane skayit And geis and capounis rostit hait 1512 Household Bk. Jas. IV 21b.
i skait vi d. 1524–5 Wigtownshire Chart. 64.
x dry scait 1561 Reg. Episc. Morav. App. 404.
Pro uno lie skait 2 denarios 1564–5 Reg. Privy S. V i 558/1.
Greit fische, sic as skait, keiling or lyng 1571 Ib. VI 227/2.
Lie kylling, lyng, halecum, lie skait, saithis 1572 Inverness Rec. I 223.
Skayt 1580–1 Edinb. B. Rec. IV 198.
That the flescheouris … sall have for breking of ilk kylling, lyng or skaitt, tua penneis [etc.] 1594 Orkney & Shetl. Rec. 218.
Ane dossane of keilling and ane dossane of skaitt merchand wair 1596 Dalr. I 13/20.
This cuntrey sindrie fresche water lochis hes that abundes in mony kyndes of fische, cheiflie in thrie, killine, skait, and makrell a1600 Aberd. B. Rec. (Jam.).
Gryt lyne fische, sic as leing, turbat, keling, & skaitt 1671 Rec. Old Aberd. I 121.
The stealing of the yarne, salmond skait and long fisch 1692 Macfarlane's Geog. Coll. II 116.
Further down the sands, neer the sea they take keilling and skait by hooks baited and laid upon the sands, which they get at low water 1698 Marchmont 185.
[Bill of fare]: Frydd skaite(c) 1570 Crail B. Ct. MS 25 April.
Ane dosoun of dry sket 1631 Buccleuch Household Bk. 3 Oct.
For a littil fresche sket to the servandis denners & supers Ib.
Skett a1646 Wedderburn Voc. (1709) 11.
Squatina, a sket(d) 1599 Household Bks. Jas. VI 22 June.
Ane fresche skeitt 1602 Shetland Sheriff Ct. (ed.) 49.
Nyne dussoun skeite(e) 1597 Household Bks. Jas. VI 27 March.
Fourtpairt peis prickettis coillis vinagir skeat 1633 (1711) Sibbald's Orkn. & Shetl. (1845) 52.infl. pl. c1500-c1512 Dunb. (OUP) 201/9.
For stink of haddockis and of scaittis 1515 Treas. Acc. V 21.
Hard skatis 1588 Edinb. Test. XIX 8.
Of dry fische keling ling & skaittis sax hundreth price of the dosone ourheid tua merkis 1598 Stirling Ant. III 308.
ix skaittis … ij dray skaittis 1684 Law Memor. 176.
An elephant … a great beast … lowged like two skats lying closs to its heid(b) ?a1648 Polemo-Mid. 4.
Fleucca & sketta pererrant Per costam(c) ?1549 Monro W. Isles (1961) 77.
Thair is gottin amang the roch stanes of the dyke foirsaid flewkis, podlokis, schaytis and little hering stikand fast amang the stanesattrib. and comb. 1531 Bell. Boece II 98.
Thay dang him with skait rumpillis 1596 Edinb. Test. XXIX 362.
xxv skaitt nettis price of the pece ourheid tua merkis

b. As a place-name element, in Skait-raw(e. 1506 Thanes of Cawdor 118.
ij rudis in the Skaytrawe [in Nairn] 1592 Acts III 614/1.
The siemen of Fischeraw … Dunbar Skaitraw Haymouth and vtheris sey townis on the south syd of Forth