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                  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”

                  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y
                  La Le Li Lo Lu
                  Lea Leg Lei Let

                  letters

                  in Scots law there were various types, those in the name of the Crown being under the signet seal; most of the types are covered under the headings, caption, cocket, diligence, fire and sword, horning, inhibition, lawburrows, marque, poinding, regress, reprisal, respite and slains.  ‘Letters of four forms’ were a form of diligence incorporating successive means of getting debtors to pay up.  They rapidly became obsolete; like apprising they may have been considered too abrupt for the popular taste, given that they seem to have been the horning, poinding and caption in one.