Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
DESUETUDE, n. Sc. law: disuse, esp. in phr. to be (fall) in(to) desuetude, to be (fall) in(to) disuse; used only of old statutes. [dəs′juətjud]Sc. 1700 Process against Egyptians in S.C.Misc. (1846) III. 179:
Many of them are old and obsolute laws, and are now fallen in desuetude.Sc. 1810 Faculty Decis. (6 Dec.) 71:
The act 1592, c. 154, having never at any time been much in observance, has long been in desuetude, and cannot now be enforced.Sc. 1933 Green's Encycl. Law Scot. XIV. 232:
The law of Scotland has allowed Acts of Parliament and Acts of Sederunt to lose their force by disuse, without express repeal. They are then said to have fallen into desuetude. As regards statutes, the principle applies only to Acts of Parliament passed prior to the Union.Sc. 1948 Sc. Daily Mail (2 June) 1:
My view was that the Act had been introduced for a political purpose at the time and that I could have pleaded desuetude — that it was inoperative because its purpose was no longer evident.
