Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1816-1826, 1890-1922
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
MISTRYST, v.
1. (1) tr. or intr. with wi'. To fail to meet or keep an appointment (with), to break faith (with) (s.Sc. 1802 J. Sibbald Chrons. Sc. Poetry IV. Gl.; Sc. l.808 Jam.; Kcd., Slk. 1963). Ppl.adj. mistrystit, forsaken, left in the lurch, seduced (Slk. 1963).Sc. 1816 Scott B. Dwarf iv.:
Feind o' me will mistryst you for a' my mother says.Dmf. 1826 A. Cunningham Paul Jones I. vi.:
A lassie ruined and mistrysted.Per. c.1890 D. M. Forrester Logiealmond (1944) 5:
Ae night we mistrysted, and she was prood, and I was prood.Sc. 1893 Stevenson Catriona xiii.:
Ye'll just mistryst aince and for a' with the gentry in the bents.Kcb. 1893 Crockett Raiders xlvi.:
There was an ill speldron o' a loon that had mistrysted wi' twa lasses already.Ags. 1894 A. Reid Songs 24:
A lassie mistrystet, the mirk roond me twinin' Mistrystet! Mistrystet! my laddie's forgotten.Abd. 1917 D. G. Mitchell Kirk i' Clachan 145:
Gin we start oot wi' this Guide He'll ne'er mistryst us.
¶(2) Appar. to have an unhappy or unlucky meeting with.Lnk. 1922 T. S. Cairncross Scot at Hame 67:
Oh I ha'e lost my playmate and the lamb has lost the fauld, He mistrysted wi' anither in the weet o' winter's cauld.
2. To lead astray, delude, sc. of a malign or supernatural agency, hence in pa.p. mistrystit, bewildered, perplexed, upset in one's feelings or judgment, dismayed (Sc. 1825 Jam.). Phr. I hae been waur mistrystet than if . . . , = Eng. "blow me if I wouldn't . . .", "I might do worse than . . ."Sc. 1816 Scott B. Dwarf iii.:
It's a braw thing for a man to be out a' day, and frighted — na, I winna say that neither — but mistrysted wi' bogles in the hame-coming.Sc. 1817 Scott Rob Roy xiv., xxv.:
Pate Macready does say, that they are sair mistrysted yonder in their Parliament House about this rubbery o' Mr. Morris. . . . I hae been waur mistrystet than if I were set to gie ye baith your ser'ing o't.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Mistryst v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/mistryst>
