A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1700+
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Sphalmata. [? f. the Gk. sphalma a trip, stumble; a failure, failing, trespass.] ? Alterations or additions, ? of a mischievous, inappropriate or improper nature, to a written text. — 1704 Ellon Presb. 347.
[The Presbytery found] that it [sc. the session book] swarmed with so many sphalmata [?] [sic] and impertinencies as to the writing and wording, and that many things were insert in it as belonged not to such a record
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"Sphalmata n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/sphalmata>
