As some readers may struggle with quotations from sources written in early-modern Scots, the meanings of the more difficult terms are listed here, though generally a little reflection will reveal that the words quoted are variants of familiar English words, especially if it is remembered that ‘quh’ was equivalent to ‘wh’. The meanings given below are those that the words appear to have had in the passages quoted. Fuller information may be found in W. Craigie, A.J. Aitken, J.A.C. Stevenson, H.D. Watson and M.G. Dareau (eds), A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue from the Twelfth Century to the End of the Seventeenth, 12 vols (Chicago, London and Aberdeen, 1931–2002).
| afor | before |
| alanerlie | only |
| anent | about or concerning |
| astrickit | bound |
| avail | value or validity |
| ay | always or continually |
| bludstouth | violent theft |
| boist | threat or to threaten |
| brokett | drink made of ale and honey |
| brouke | to have or enjoy something |
| by | without |
| caution | guarantee |
| childer | crew |
| conduce | to hire |
| cordell | rope |
| coy | cabin bed |
| cummer | trouble or disturbance |
| dailisman | charterer of ship |
| effer | to belong or pertain to something |
| eik | to add |
| equipage | crew |
| feilzie | failure or to fail |
| fure | to carry or transport |
| graith | equipment of ship |
| how | hull |
| ilk | each |
| kippage | crew |
rest or remainder |
|
| leasum | permissible or licit |
| ma | more |
| mekill | much or many |
| nor | than |
| oncost | overhead |
| or | before |
| oupset | to compensate |
| ourelop | deck above hold of ship |
| outred | to fit out or equip a ship |
| poind | to distrain goods |
| prymgilt | levy on loading or unloading of goods |
| quhilk | which |
| quhill | until |
| quhinzear | short sword |
| raiff | robbery |
| reidschip | equipment of ship |
| replege | to withdraw action to own court from another |
| ring | to prevail |
| rive | to tear, rip or rend something |
| roup | aution or to auction |
| samekle | as much or many |
| sic | such |
| skaith | harm or damage |
| sleuth | sloth or negligence |
| spil | to spoil or destroy, specifically to spill, something |
| stouth | theft |
| syn | then |
| tane | the one of two |
| thir | these |
| thole | to permit or tolerate |
| thrang | busy activity or overcrowding |
| till | to |
| tinsale | loss |
| toder | the other of two |
| tow | cable |
| tyne | to lose |
| unlaw | fine for misdemeanour |
| ward | to distrain person |
| ware | to expend money generally, to buy and sell goods particularly |
warranty |
|
| wathe | hunting or fishing |
| werklum | tool or implement |
| wier | seaweed |