A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: <1375, 1375, 1576-1692
[1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1]
Small lyne, Smal(l)ing, Smalyn, n. [Smal(l adj. 1 b and Line n.2 1.] a. Also coll. and pl. Fishing-line(s as used by inshore fishermen for catching small fish. Also comb. with boit. 1576 Orkney Oppress. 66.
Thai had libertie … to fisch … with small lyne, gritlyne, or handlyne 1580 Edinburgh Testaments VIII 241.
Item … fyve peice of small lyne 1590 Edinburgh Testaments XXI 193.
Four hering nettis ane greitling and ane smalling 1617 Master of Works Accounts (ed.) II 79.
For tuyne and small lynes 1621 Brechin Testaments IV 29b.
Sum small lynis & hewkiscomb. 1374 Coldingham Priory lxxvii.
Item j smalynbat … j smalynbat cum mastis [etc.] 1583 Edinburgh Testaments XII 96.
Ane smaling boit with hir pertinentis estimat to xxvj li. xiij s. iiij d. 1592 Edinburgh Testaments XXIV 150.
The thrid part of ane small lyne boit price thairof xx merkis 1659 Nicolson Diurnals 3 June.
Work furnished to the smalling boatt 1661 Pittenweem Ann. 84.
Alex. Wandersone and David Unstone, masters of the small lyne boats … actit … to hold their four small lyne boats going to sea at the ordinary seasons with sufficient equippage, and that none of them shall lie a land 1692 Rec. Convention of Royal Burghs IV 621.
There are … only … six small lyne boats who … goe to dreave at Lambas when ther is any tack of herringes
b. In comb. with tow: (Relatively) fine or thin cord or rope. 1609 Mining Rec. 150.
For aucht scoir faddom of small lyne towis to mesour the grund and plumb schaftis and to bind the thak vpoun Sir Bevis Bulmers litle outschot at iiij d. the faddome
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Small Lyne n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/small_lyne>
