A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1400, 1475
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Butlas, But(e)les, a. [ME. botles, boteles, OE. bótléas.] Incapable of remedy or aid. a1400 Legends of the Saints xxiv. 460.
Ful butlas bale thu has me dycht a1400 Ib. xxix. 300.
He … dide his payne … To bring him to butlas bale c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace vi. 209.
This is a butlas [v.r. buteles] payne c1475 Ib. xi. 172.
Butles to ground he smat him
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"Butlas adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/butlas>


