A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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About this entry:
First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1400-1499
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Thuertnay, Thwertnay, Twertnay, n. [East-midl. ME thwertutnay (1277), ON (setja) þvert nei (to deny) outright or flatly.] (The utterance) ‘No’; flat denial (of culpability), or the right to issue such a denial. — 14.. Acts I 26/2.
It is to wyt that in borow mutis thar is hantyd and oysyt thuertnay [Acts I 26/1, twertnay] in defendande wrang and unlawe 14.. Acts I 371/1.
Sed si per negligenciam suam responderit et dixerit thwertnay de omnibus sibi oppositis plene respondit et sic amittet curiam domini sui
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"Thuertnay n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 11 May 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/thuertnay>
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