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Hello, I work on archives and records of the Scottish 16C. I've not directly come across this phrase, but the Dictionary of the Older Scottish tongue does record similar things. eg: 'Thai byd display thar baneris owt of faldis' 'To four men ... to fald and lay up the arres werk' (1505 Treas. Acc. III. 162) 'Blak gray to lay betwix the fawlis of the claith of gold' (1539 Treas. Acc. VII. 187) 'That it [sc. the plaiding] be presented onli treinched or layed in plyes or faldis' (1629 Conv. Burghs III. 283) See http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/ under DOST 1. Fald, n. They seem to give some support to either of your meanings! Sarah On 08/01/2013 12:42, Thomas Larque wrote: > Hello. > > I was wondering whether anybody might have come across the phrase “lay > in fold” in regard to clothing (except for its occurrence in the lyric > sometimes called “Bridal Morn” or “The Cries of Durham”). The only > source I came across online—an 18^th century dictionary—suggested that > it could be used to mean pleat, as women do with their headdresses, > which I suppose suggests that it is related to wearing an object. But I > also came across a will (which I have subsequently irritatingly > misplaced) that might have implied that it meant placed in storage, with > items lying in fold being granted to somebody within the will. > > The song lyric itself reads “Silver is white, red is the gold / The > robes they lay in fold” (although the two lines may be separated by > other lyrics in the original and complete song, as only the soprano part > survives). > > Thanks for any assistance. > > Thomas Larque. > -- Sarah Carpenter English Literature University of Edinburgh Edinburgh EH8 9JX Tel: 0131 650 3608 The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.