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

Sa Sc Se Sh Si Sl So Sp St Su Sy

Soc Sor Sow

soccage

an obsolete method of holding lands in return for the performance of certain services to their superior; a shade different from ward-holding since the service to be returned could be just about anything and was not (necessarily) of a military nature. In Scotland, holding in soccage seems to have been mostly in return for agricultural services. In the case of services performed to the king’s person, for example by his barber or by the keeper of his falcons, it could be called ‘sergeanty’ instead of soccage.

sorning

taking meat and drink by force or menaces, and without paying.

sowming and rowming

a legal action to determine the number of cattle allowed to be pastured on a common by each of the people having a right to do so.