Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1820-1877
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MOLENDINAR, adj., n. Also -ary. [molən′dəinər]
I. adj. Pertaining to a mill or miller. Still current in place-name the Molendinar Burn, a stream running through the older part of Glasgow which drove various mills along its course. Otherwise a recreation of Scott as a euphuistic parody. Also molendinary, id., and as n., a mill.Sc. 1820 Scott Monastery xxviii., xxix.:
Comeliest of millers' daughters . . . to thee, O most Molendinar beauty, I return the thanks which thy courtesy may justly claim. . . . The house of thy molendinary father.Sc. 1822 Scott Pirate xi.:
Can a man . . . look at that thing there, which they have the impudence to call a cornmill, without trembling to think that corn should be entrusted to such a miserable molendinary?Sc. 1827 Scott Journal (10 Feb.):
The stories of the miller of Thirlestane and similar molendinar tragedies.Abd. 1877 W. Alexander Rural Life 151:
A curious commentary on the utterly obsolete character of the old molendinary system is found in the case of the mills belonging to the burgh of Aberdeen.
II. n. A molar tooth.Sc. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's W. xiii.:
The extraction of a carious molendinar.
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"Molendinar adj., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 1 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/molendinar>
