Middle English Dictionary Entry
scopperel n.
Entry Info
| Forms | scopperel n. Also scop(e)relle; pl. scopprelles. |
| Etymology | ?ON: cp. Icel. skoppa to spin, skoppr top, skoppara-kringla spinning top; & cp. MnE dial. (chiefly North and North Midlands) scopperil, scop(p)ril. ?Cp. ME scōpen v.(1). |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
(a) A toy that spins around, a top, whirligig, perh. consisting of a disc of some sort with a pointed peg passed through its center; (b) her. ?a badge in the form of a disc.
Associated quotations
a
- c1450(?c1425) St.Christina Mirab.(Dc 114)128/35 : Alle hir body was taken of spirite & turnyd in to a whirlynge about as a scoprelle or a toppe þat childer pleye with.
- ?c1475 *Cath.Angl.(Add 15562)108b : A Scopperell [Monson: Scoperelle]: Giraculum.
b
- 1486 ?Berners Bk.St.Albans (Blades 1881)her.leaf b iv/b : Diaclys be called in armys scopprellys.