A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1990 (DOST Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1399-1628
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Resemble, -sembill, v.1 [ME and e.m.E. resemble (1340), OF resembler (1080 in Larousse) f. re- and sembler, L. simil-, simulāre, f. similis like. With sense 2 b, cf. late ME resembled to = made like, similar (c1460).]
1. intr. To seem, appear. Const. infin. or noun compl. a1400 Legends of the Saints xxv 503.
He resemblyt fore to be Worthy and gud ?1438 Alex. ii 117.
For thow resembillis ane man of wit
2. tr. To be like, have a likeness to; to resemble. ?1438 Alex. ii 271.
Gaudefere [and] … Betoun That of worship and of renoun Resembles thair fader ?1438 Ib. 7708. 1456 Hay II 146/14.
And syk a prince … resemblis and is lyke to the glorious God almychty 1513 Doug. i Prol. 262.
Quhilk is na mair lyke Virgill … Than the nycht owle resemblis the papyngay 1513 Ib. x vii 79.
To fader and mother is oft plesand thyng, Seand thar childer resembill ane lyknes 1533 Boece 225.
Thir bukis … erare resembill the eloquence of Salust than the ditement of Liuius 1596 Calderwood V 566.
b. To be resemblit onto, to be similar to; to be comparable to. 1492 Myll Spectakle of Luf 274/30.
He answerit that the wemen is resemblit onto a tre … quhilk [etc.]
3. To compare or liken (to). a1500 Quare of Jelusy 43.
My spirit could nocht resemble hir, nor gesse Bot vnto Dyane or sum hie goddesse
4. To represent or depict. 1581-1623 James VI Poems I 21/35.
Her … mouth resembled into sound The daunce harmonious 1622-6 Bisset II 342/13.
The imaige or pictour of Marie … in ane tabill paynted quhairin Christis pictoure wes resemblit 1628 Rutherford Lett. (1894) 40.
The prophet … resembleth Justice to be handled as an enemy holden out at the ports of our city
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"Resemble v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 11 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/resemble_v_1>
