deponent
someone who makes a deposition before a court.
Your Scottish Archives Glossary
The Your Scottish Archives Glossary defines archaic words and phrases, mostly Scots law terminology, commonly found in documents and records in Scotland’s archives. If you think a word or phrase should be added to the glossary, or an existing entry could be defined better, please contact us at your@scottisharchives.org.uk.
You can also use the Dictionary of the Scots Language as a further resource at https://dsl.ac.uk/ for Scots words and phrases (including legal terminology).
To find a term within the glossary, click on the initial letter of the word you are looking for, then select the relevant syllable segment displayed below.
Example: to find the term “roup” select section “R” then sub-section “Ro”
deposit
the method of transferring records to an archive service without transfer of legal title, usually to enable long-term preservation and public access; normally this is subject to a deposit agreement for an indefinite period. Many records are legally inalienable and remain the property of the body which created it or its lawful successor such as Church of Scotland records.
deposition
the testimony of a witness put down in writing.