A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1513-1610
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Compare, Compair, n.2 Also: compear. [f. Compare,v.1 Also e.m.E. (1589).] Comparison. Freq. in compare of, in comparison with. 1513 Doug. i. Prol. 27.
Quhat compair is betwix blak and quhyte? 1513 Ib. 381.
Our tungis penuryte … Into compar of fair Latyn 1531 Bell. Boece II. 49.
The Britonis wer of na power in compair of Saxonis in Britane 1533 Id. Livy I. 253.
Lucresius was in few nowmer in compare of the huge nowmer … of inemyis 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 1945.
My best hound … Quhilk I lude best, without ony compair 1560 Ib. 4126.
Compair thairfor is not vs twa betwene a1568 Scott vi. 13.
Luve … puttis all personis in compair 1570 Satirical Poems xii. 15.
Bot na compair, ane kings sone to ane knaif 1600-1610 Melvill 430.
Gif hounders of sic knaves war tean and hangde, War in compear a wild-gus for a wran
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Compare n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/compare_n_2>
