A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1951 (DOST Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1538-1651
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0]
(Fire-,) Fyre-spere, n. Also: fyir speyr, fyr(e) speir. A spear carrying fire with it. 1538 Treasurer's Accounts VIII. 159.
For chaftis to fyre speris 1549 Complaynte of Scotland 42/2.
Ȝe soldartis, … mak reddy ȝour corsbollis, hand bollis, fyir speyris [etc.] 1572-5 Diurnal of Occurrents 105.
Ane fort … quhairin wes artailȝerie, schote, fyre ballis, fyre speris [etc.] 1622-6 Bisset II. 220/14.
The admirall … may put in the saidis schipis, … ane paveis, ane fyre speir for [ilk] thrie tun a1651 Calderwood IV. 614.
The gibbets at the Croce were brokin doun with fire-balls and fire-speares
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Fyre-spere n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 11 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/fyre_spere>
