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”
the Scottish legal terms for what is common knowledge or generally accepted by people as a fact; usually applied to one way in which a marriage could be recognised, which was by two people living together and being commonly looked on by others as being man and wife; can also be applied to a someone having the reputation of being a thief.
(mainly relating to cattle) spotted or streaked with white; white-faced.
the crime of assaulting someone in his own home.