A
B
bailie = the baron's deputy, or someone who presided over the barony court, or a municipal magistrate or officer
barony = lands held of the crown and erected into a barony, with civil and criminal jurisdiction within its bounds
Brother German = two men who had the same mother and father
bond = in Scots law usually related to money lent on the security of land, thus more equivalent to a mortgage
C
cautioner = guarantor
censuses = taken in Scotland every 10 years since 1841 (except 1941). Census records are not available to researchers until 100 years have past.
chamberlain = chief financial officer of an estate
clachan = hamlet
coat of arms descriptions = see the Coat of Arms page on this site.
commonty = common pasture land
D
decreet = the judgement on sentence of a court of law, whereby the question at issue is decided
dispone = to assign, make over, or grant, to convey land, before 1869 it was an essential word in any valid conveyance of land.
d.s.p. = died without issue (decessit sine prole)
d.s.p. legit = died without legitimate issue
d.s.p.m. = died without male issue
d.s.p.m.s. = died without surviving male issue
d.s.p.s. = died without surviving issue
E
entail = settlement of the succession to heritable property by specifying the line of heirs
escheat = to confiscate moveables, the moveables themselves, often gifted or sold by the crown
excambion = exchange or barter, specifically of land
F
factor = an agent or steward who manages land or house property for its proprietor, has charge of an administration of an estate
fee = the regular payment to a hired or contracted servant
feu = land held in payment of rent; to let land in rent or take land in rent
feu-duty = annual payment to the superior by the feuar
freeholders = county landowners who, until the Reform Act of 1832, were entitled to elect or be elected a member of Parliament
G
gilpey = a young girl
gumption = commonsense
gutscraper = fiddler
H
haggis = economic pudding boiled in a sheep's stomach
heirs portioner = the division of heritable property equally among the surviving daughters of a heritor who had no male heirs
heritors = parish landowners and property owners who were responsible for building and maintaining parish church, manse and school until 1925
hodden = coarse grey homespun cloth
howdie = midwife
husbandland = the holding of a husbandman - originally 26 Scots acres (.75 English acre)
I
in = when used before a property name, denotes the resident of a property, for example, John Carruthers in Twathats
infeft = to invest with legal possession of heritable property
infeftment = the investing of a new owner with a real right in or legal possession of land.
J
Justices of the Peace = from 1609, were entitled to appoint constables by parish to apprehend those who breached the peace and regulate weights and measures.
K
ken = know, beware of, recognize, identify
kirk = church
kirklands = land of which a churchman or ecclesiastical institution was superior
kirtle = gowns, skirt, petticoat
knowe = knoll or hillock
L
lav(e)rock = lark
M
mains = part of the barony reserved for the lord's use, or the home farm of the estate
mark = two-thirds of a Scots pound
meikle = great or large
merk = 1 mark of silver. Now about 70% of a £, a measure of land
merkland = a unit of land assessment being the area which originally had the annual value of 1 merk
N
nether = lower or bottom part
O
of = when used before a property name, denotes the owner of a property, for example, John Carruthers of Holmains - which allows the owner to also be known as simply Holmains
P
portioner = the occupier of part of a property originally divided among co-heirs
precept = authorization by one person to another to act on his behalf.
protocol book = notary's register
Q
R
register of sasines = record of transfers of ownership of heritable property
relict = widow
relief = debtor's obligation to relieve (compensate) his guarantor
retour = to return by a jury on an inquest declaring their decision as to heirship, the verdict of a jury
riding book = an account book compiled during the collection (riding) of the teinds
S
sasine = investiture, or act of taking possession of feudal property
sheriff = a former judicial and administrative officer, once heriditary - duties were mainly carried out by the sheriff-depute
shilling = one-twentieth of a £. 12 pence = 1 shilling. 1/6 means 1 shilling and 6 pence.
silver-rent = rent paid in money, not in kind
superior = the granter of land to a person who became his vassal in return for the perpetual payment of feu-duty
T
tack = a lease or tenancy
tailzie or taillie = Scots form of the word entail.
teind = originally a tenth part of the produce of lands payable to the church
tenant-in-chief = vassal holding land directly from the Crown
terce = a life-rent allowed by law to a widow, being the third of the heritable subjects possessed by her husband on his death
testament = a will
thirds = tax equivalent to a third of the income paid on benefices after 1562
titular = a layman to whom the Crown transferred the title to church lands (and tithes of church benefices)
tocher = the dowry or the marriage portion of a wife
twalpennie = a shilling
U
umquhile = at times; sometimes
V
W
wadsett = mortgage; conveyance of land in pledge of a debt or obligation, with a reserved power to recover
wylecoat = flannel vest
X
Y
Z
