A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1986 (DOST Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1475-1585
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
Polit(e, -eit, adj. Also: -yt(e. [Late ME and e.m.E. polyt (c 1450), pollyte (1497), polished, neat, elegant, L. polītus, p.p. of polīre to polish. Cf. Polist ppl. adj.]
1. Polished, burnished. = Polist ppl. adj. 1. c1475 Acts of Schir William Wallace ix 1082.
The Scottis … Throu polyt platis with poyntis persyt thair 1501 Doug. Pal. Hon. 217.
A diademe maist plesandlie polite [L. polyte] a1585 Maitland Quarto MS xl 89.
Ȝour teith lyik yuore baine poleit
2. transf. and fig. Polished, refined, elegant; embellished, beautified. a. Of language.Chiefly polit termis.(1) a1500 Henr. Fab. 3 (Makc.).
Polit termys of sueit rethory Ar rycht plesand one to the eyr of man a1500 Ib. 2716 (Bann.).
Fals pervertaris of the lawis Quhilk vndir poleit termes falset myngis a1500 Id. Test. Cress. 241. 1501 Doug. Pal. Hon. 836 (L).
Ȝone is … the court rethoricall Of polit termys sang poeticall 1513 Id. Æn. i Prol. 34 (E) (see Polist ppl. adj. 2 b). 1530 Lynd. Test. Pap. 59.
The poleit termes ar pullit, euerilk one, Be thir forenamit poetis of prudence 1568 Skeyne Descr. Pest 3.
Expressit in vulgar langage without poleit or affectionat termis(2) c1552 Lynd. Mon. 5870.
Ȝe brether of religioun … Ȝour polit payntit flatterye
b. Of a park or garden. 1530 Lynd. Test. Pap. 641.
Falkland … Thy polyte park, vnder the Lowmound Law
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Polit adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/polite>
