mear, mere
mare, female horse; wooden frame on which wrongdoers had to ‘ride’ as a public punishment; wooden frame used on a trestle to support scaffolding; bricklayer’s hod.
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”
mell (with)
a Scots phrase meaning “have dealings with”; used in a testament, it applies to the executor’s disposal of the deceased’s property.
messengers at arms
the officer who executed all legal summonses and letters of diligence.
messuage
the main residence of dwelling-house of a baron, and therefore the ‘head place’ of his barony. This was the approximate equivalent to the English ‘manor-house’.