
1590s, anglicized spelling of French pronunciation of debauched “dissolute” (see debauch). Obsolete in England after mid-17c., retained in Scotland, and given a revival of sorts by Scott (1826), so that it turns up in 19c. literary works.
1590s, anglicized spelling of French pronunciation of debauched “dissolute” (see debauch). Obsolete in England after mid-17c., retained in Scotland, and given a revival of sorts by Scott (1826), so that it turns up in 19c. literary works.