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: 1456-1460, 1520-1535
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Unsted(e)fast, adj. [ME and e.m.E. unstedefeste (a1200), unstedefaste (c1200), vn-stedfast (Cursor M.); Stedfast adj.] a. Of the world, life: Unsettled, subject to change or vicissitude. b. Of a person: Weak of resolve, vacillating (in belief). —a. 1456 Hay I 33/6.
And now be caus of this divisioun, all the warld is in a wylde thocht, unstedefast c1460 Wisdom of Solomon (STS) 425.
Leid thi lyf with thaim that the louis for the day of the vnstedfast lyf —b. c1520-c1535 Nisbet Rom. iv 19.
And he was nocht made vnstedfast in the faith
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"Unstedfast adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/unstedefast>
