A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Legitim, -ime, n. [After L. lēgitima (pars).] The later name for the Barnis Part or ‘legal share of the father's free moveable property due on his death to his children’ (Bell's Dict. Law Sc., s.v.) — 1681 Stair Inst. iii. viii. 44.
The bairns' part is their legitima, or portion natural, … which, because the law … determines it, it is called the legitim 1682 Fountainhall Decis. I. 198.
His whole estate being but 2000 merks, he could not give away £1000 of it to his wife, in prejudice of his children their legitime
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"Legitim n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 22 Nov 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/legitim>