Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1820
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†GRAVIL, n. The plant gromwell, genus Lithospermum, the hard seeds of which were formerly used in medicine to procure abortion.Sc. c.1820 Tam-a-Line in Trad. Ballad (Percy Soc. 1845) 14:
O! why pou ye the pile, Margaret? The pile o' the gravil green, For to destroy the bonny bairn That we got us between.
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"Gravil n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 3 Jun 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/gravil>
