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.
Unfensabil(l, -fensseable, Onfensabill, adj. [Fensabill adj.] a. Incapable of defending oneself; defenceless. b. Incapable of providing defence or protection. —a. 1513 Doug. ix xii 16 (Ruddim.).
Like as an rageand wilde tygyr vnstabil Amang the febil beistis vnfensabil [C., Sm. onfensabill] 1531 Bell. Boece (M) I 257.
The agit and febill personis, quhilkis war left at hayme as vnfensabill bodijs —b. 1663 Melrose Reg. Rec. II 72.
[He has … taken away] verie many stones out of the yaird dyk … so that the samyn is become unfensseable
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"Unfensabil adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 24 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/unfensabill>
