A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2000 (DOST Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
S(c)ham(e)fast(e, adj. [ME and e.m.E. shammfasst (Orm), shamefast (Wyclif), OE sc(e)amfæst; S(c)ham(e n.] Bashful, modest.(1) a1561 Norvell Meroure 59b.
My ennimies fand me, neuer agast, Nor yet my freindes: but humble and shamfast 1563 Lekpreuik in Dickson & Edmond Ann. Sc. Printing 200.
[The author is] a man shamefast of his owen nature 1596 Dalr. I 213/5.
Neuir a matrone sa schamefaste quhome he defylet nochtcompar. 1597 James VI Dæmonol. (STS) 8/28.
They either (if they be of the shamefaster sort) … or else being of the grosser sort [etc.](2) c1590 Fowler II 10/13.
I rather confesse my imbecillitie heirin by schamefast silence, then [etc.] 1611-57 Mure Early Misc. P. ii 9.
Hir schamefast, blusching smyles quho ever sies Id. Dido & Æneas ii 681.
For thee alone, my shamefast lyf I brack, And fame I lost
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"Shamfast adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/schamefaste>