Act Formal decision
Addettit   Indebted, owing
Alienate Sell
Allenarly Only
Anent Referring to
Annual Rent Interest on money lent
Assignation Assigning of rights
Assize Jury; articles subject to a regulation or tax
Assoilzie Acquit
Astrict Tie lands to a Mill
Attour Besides
Avail Value
Awand Owing
Bailliary  Office or authority of a Baillie
Baillie An official in a Burgh; an officer in a Barony
Bairn’s pairt Part of a parents moveable estate to which children are entitled
Barony     Lands of a Baron, held from the Crown with certain rights of jurisdiction

Baxter

Baker

Be

By

Beltane

Whitsunday – 15th May
Biggin

Building

Bear Barley
Blanche Ferme Nominal rent
Boll Measure of grain
Books of Adjournal  Records of the Justiciary Court
Bond Written legal agreement to repay money
Bot without
Boxmaster  Treasurer
Burgess A Freeman of a Burgh
Cautioner One acting as surety
Cain or Kain Rent paid in kind
Charter Deed granted by a Superior
Clachan Small settlement
Commonty Common pasture land
Compear  Appear in an action
Compt  Account
Conjunctly and Severally  Jointly and by each one, obligation whereby each party is liable
Cordiner Shoemaker
Cottar One holding land in return for labour service
Deacon Leader of a Trade Guild
Decern   To decide, decree
Decreet Decision or judgement
Dempster Officer pronouncing judgement
Depone  To give evidence
Deposition Evidence  given on oath
Diet Date for Court hearing
Dispone Convey land
Disposition Deed by which property is conveyed to another
Eik Codicil to a Will
Evident Document establishing legal title
Factory Deed empowering one to act for another
Farmtoun Settlement based round a farm
Fee Full right of property (as against liferent); payment for service
Feu  Feudal holding
Feu ferme Rent due under feu charter
Feuar, Fiar  One who holds a fee (not a tenant)
Fiars Price fixed for grain each year in each county on which stipends were calculated
Forestall

To buy goods on the way to market

Fulzie

Dung
Gear Moveable goods
German Full (of a brother or sister, occasionally a cousin)

Glebe

Land allocated to a Minister of a parish

Grassum

Single payment made on entry to a lease or Feu (or renewal)

Hairst

Harvest

Handfast

To be betrothed

Heritable Property

Immoveable; usually land, whether owned or leased

Heritor

Landowner— usually referring to one who contributed to the upkeep of the Church

Hind

Ploughman

Horning

Penal diligence for a debt; an order for the debtor to pay

Husbandland

Holding of a Husbandman (originally 26 Scots acres)

Indweller

Inhabitant of a town which was not a burgh, or a resident in a burgh who was not a
Burgess

Infeft

To put a person in heritable possession of land

Inhibition

A writ forbidding a debtor from selling or burdening his property before claims of a creditor are settled

Inquest

A body of people summoned to examine such matters as a Service of Heirs

Instrument

A legal document give on completion of a legal act

Intromit

Deal with in writing; Intromitters – those who intromit

Inventar

Inventory of moveable property

Jus mariti

A husband’s right to his wife’s moveables

Jus relecti

A widow’s right to one third or one half of her husband’s property on his death

Kindly tenant

Holders of land having a kind of heritable right to them

Kist

Chest

Kye

Cows

Lade

Mill stream

Lammas

1st August

Landward

Part of a parish which is outwith the town

Latterwill

A will

Lead

To transport

Letters

Court writ or warrant

Liferent

Property held during a person’s lifetime only

Litster

Dyer

Lousit

Released

Mail

Rent

Mailing

Land for which rent is paid

Mains

Home farm on an Estate

Martinmas

11th November – term day

Merk

Old Scots silver coin worth 13/4d Scots (about 1/2d sterling)

Merkland

Measure of land for which duty paid was one merk

Minor

Usually a person between 12 and 21

Mortcloth

Cloth used to cover a coffin

Moveable estate

Personal effects and property (not land)

Muir

Hill pasture

Multures

Grain given to the Miller of a Mill to which a person was bound

Mutchkin

A liquid measure

Nolt

Cattle

Notary

One licensed to record legal transactions

Novadamus

Charter altering the terms of a previous charter

Nowt

Cattle (Nolt)

Obligation

Legal agreement to pay a sum of money

Oxgang

Measure of land

Oy

Grandchild

Panel

Prisoner

Paroch, Parochine

Parish

Peck

Measure of corn or oats

Pendicle

Small piece of ground

Pertinents (as in parts, pertinents & pendicles)

Everything making up parts of lands conveyed
 

Piece (the)

each

Plenishings

Furnishings

Ploughgate

Eight oxgangs of land

Poind (Poynd)

To seize and sell goods of a debtor

Poors Box

Parish fund for the poor

Portioner

Owner of a small piece of land

Precept

Warrant or authority granted by superior for owner or heir’s infeftment
Precept (of Clare Constat) Document recognising the claim of an heir to inherit and be infeft

Precognition

Statement of witness (taken before the proceedings)

Premises

Term (in a document)

Premonition

Official warning

Pro Indiviso

Undivided

Process

Legal documents relating to all steps in a case

Protest

Legal demand for payment of debt

Pupil

Children up to 12 (girls) and 14 (boys)

Quha

Who

Quheat

Wheat

Quhilk

Which

Quhyt

Free, clear

Quad Sacra

Parish disjoined for ecclesiastical purposes only

Quot

Tax on estate due to Commissaries (one twentieth)

Ratification

Confirmation

Relict

 Widow
Resignation Vassal gives up estate to superior
Retour Extract of Chancery of service of an heir to an ancestor
Reversion Obligation by creditor under which the debtor may redeem estate given as security for a loan (on repayment)

Roods

Measure of land
Run-Rig System of agriculture Run common pasture; Rig Strip of cultivated land
Sasine Act giving legal possession of land (infeftment)
Sederunt Meeting; minutes listing those present

Sequestration

Bankruptcy
Set (t) Let
Siclike Likewise
Soume Sum

Statute labour

So many days work on roads demanded from tenants, cottars and labourers
Steading Farm buildings, originally the farm itself
Stent Assessment, tax
Sucken Obligation to use a certain mill

Summa

Total
Superior One who makes a grant of land to another who is then his vassal and pays Feu duty
Tack Lease
Tailzie Entail
Teind Tenth part of produce paid to the Church
Term Date when interest or rent was payable
Thirlage Binding of a tenant to grind his grain at a particular mill
Tocher Dowry
Toun Settlement
Tutor Guardian of children (see pupils)
Umquhile Deceased
Uterine Having the same mother (of a half-brother or sister)
Vassal One who holds land from a superior under feudal law
Vest To endow
Victuall Food, provisions
Wadset Pledge of lands (conveyed by sasine) but with right of recovery on repayment of money borrowed
Ward Guardianship of an infant heir with control of lands
Warrandice Guarantee that right conveyed will be effected
Warrant Original document of which a copy is made for a register
Warning Formal notice to a tenant to remove within 40 days
Waulk Mill Fulling mill
Webster Weaver
Whitsunday 15th May, - term day
Winning Digging up (of peats)
Wright Carpenter
Writer LawyerA
Yrto Thereto
   
   
About IMCHAD Ancestry Website Owner :  Ian McClumpha  : imchad@freeola.com Last modified: August 28, 2011 How Our Ancestors Lived