Sc. Forms: 4 a-toure, at-oure, 4–5 atoure, 6 attoure, attouir, 9 atower, 4– attour, atour. [Only Scotch, exc. in the quotations from Alisaunder and Sir Beves. App. f. AT prep. + our, ower, Sc. form of OVER. In Barbour’s Bruce OUTOUR is used in the same sense, as if at- were corrupted from out. In his Saints’ Lives it rhymes many times with fower, ‘four,’ never with Fr. ou in hour, honour; nor does the sense suit Fr. autour, or OF. entour, around, about.]
A. prep.
1. Of position: Over.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, XIII. 353. Bannokburne, that sa cummyrsum was … mycht nane atour it ryde.
1423. James I., Kingis Q., III. viii. Thaire hudis all … atoure thair eyen hang.
c. 1425. Wyntoun, Cron., IV. xix. 64. Atoure the Peychtys kyng regnand.
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot., I. 9. To fair attour the flude.
1826. J. Wilson, Noct. Ambr., Wks. 1855, I. 149. Loupin atower the sopha.
1837. R. Nicoll, Poems (1842), 85. The sunshine creeps atour the crags.
2. Of degree, quantity or number: Over, more than, beyond.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, II. 368. And he hym-selff, atour the lave, Sa hard and hewy dyntis gave. Ibid., XX. 434. Nocht … atour ten.
c. 1475. Rauf Coilȝear. Ane man he traistit in, maist atour all vther thing.
1609. Skene, Reg. Maj., 139. Attour the space of ane zeare, and ane day.
b. By and atour: over and above, in addition to.
c. 1600. in Orig. Paroch. Scot. (1851), I. 517. Three chalders of victual … by and attour the ministeris stipend.
1824. Scott, Redgauntlet, xii. By and attour her gentle havings.
3. Over an obstacle, restriction, prohibition: In defiance of, in spite of.
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot., II. 12. How the Pechtis crownit ane King attouir forbidding.
Mod. Sc. (Jamieson) I’ll do this attour ye.
† 4. ? Over against.
c. 1375. ? Barbour, St. Adrian, 380. Furth come campyonis foure, & al stud Adryane atoure.
B. adv.
1. Over and above, moreover, in addition, besides.
c. 1320. Sir Beves, 2137. Atour, a seide, in is contre Icham a erl and also is he.
c. 1375. ? Barbour, St. Marcus, Prol. 1. Ȝete suld I here a-toure Spek of þe ewangelistis foure.
1558. Kennedy, Compend. Tract., in Misc. Wodr. Soc. (1844), 108. Attouir, it is to be notit.
1663. in Spalding, Troub. Chas. I. (1829), 42. Attour, they are of intolerable greediness.
b. In same sense, the phrases By atour, by and atour, more atour (mairatour).
c. 1300. K. Alis., 451. Ded buth my prynces be atour.
a. 1500. Lancelot, 1775. And mor atour he shall Have O thing.
1725. A. Ramsay, Gent. Sheph. (1844), 31. By an attour … twa quey cawfs, I’ll yearly to them give.
1794. Burns, Wks., 137. Bye attour, my gutcher has A hich house and a laigh ane.
2. ? All over, everywhere.
c. 1475. Rauf Coilȝear, 469. His plaitis properlie picht attour with precious stanis.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VII. vi. 68. Quhy suld I dred or spayr To purches help … attour allquhair?
