A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2002 (DOST Vol. XI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1599
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Unes(e, Uneth(is, adv. Also: unhes, uneis(t, -eais, unneis, wnes(e, wnesse, uneith, unnethes, -is, oneys, on heys, oneth(is, oneith. [ME and e.m.E. unneðe(s (both c1200), vnnethes, vnese (both Cursor M.), onethe (Lydgate), on-ethes (1450), vneath (1600), OE unéaðe; Eith adj.] Only with difficulty; barely, scarcely.(a) a1400 Legends of the Saints v 509.
Sancte Johne … for selfe eld ves sa wery, That vnhes vith the helpe of twa He mycht quhyle to the kirke ga a1400 Legends of the Saints xix 247.
The lytil barne he bare Wox euiare mare & mare, That vnese oure the watir he wane c1420 Wynt. iv 1034.
Wnese [C. wnesse] hym-selff wyth mekyll payne Etchapyde owt off that melle c1420 Ratis Raving 1675.
Wnes 1456 Hay I 58/5.
He set on thame smertly with sik … ferstee, that unes mycht the Fraunche men … put thame in ordinaunce of bataill 1456 Hay II 8/20.
Unese(b) ?1438 Alex. i 566.
Pure men sa vnwourthy is, Vneis that ony will thame pryse, Or loif c1500-c1512 Dunb. (OUP) 8/45.
Unneis [Arund. vneis] with lyf he micht sustene That croun on thrungin with crueltie 15.. Clariodus v 2585.
Thay that lovit uther heartfullie Uneis might hold them from weiping then for wo(c) a1508 Kennedy Pass. Christ 594.
Vneais(d) c1409-1436 Kingis Quair § 98.
With quaking hert astonate of that sight Vnnethis wist I quhat that I suld seyne c1520-c1535 Nisbet Acts xxvii 7.
In mony dais we sailit slawlie and vnethis [W., P. vnnethe] com aganes Guydoun, for the wind lettit vs(e) 1460 Hay Alex. 123.
Vneth(f) a1500 Henr. Fab. 2197.
The volff wes neir weill dungin to the deid That vneith [Ch. vneis] with his lyfe away he wan(g) 1513 Doug. x vii 174.
Oneys(h) 1513 Doug. ii vii 133.
Pelyas slawly mycht onethis [Sm. vnethis, Ruddim. vneth] go; By Vlixes for he was woundit so(i) 1513 Doug. iv vi 8.
Allace! quhat suld he do? oneth [Ruddim. vneist] he wist
b. Scarcely the amount of, hardly as much as. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace vi 211.
Wnes [1570 uneis] … a word he mycht bryng out for teyne: The bailfull teris bryst braithly fra his eyne c1515 Asloan MS I 161/26.
The hillis of Caspy … has in lenth vjM pas and in breid on heys a cart way 1513 Doug. i Prol. 270.
This other buke … So Franchly leys, oneith [Sm. oneth, Ruddim. vneth] twa wordis gais rycht a1568 Bannatyne MS 273b/380.
Full few men thair be Vnnethes ony dar I saifly say … Bot that the hest of God thay dissobey
c. Scarcely, in respect of time; only just. a1400 Legends of the Saints xxvi 188.
Vnese this sad thai had Quhene [etc.]
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"Unes adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/unese>
