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.
DIVISION, n. Sc. usages.
1. Sc. law: in phr. action of division, “an action by which common property is divided” (Sc. 1946 A. D. Gibb Legal Terms 30).Sc. 1754 J. Erskine Princ. Law Scot. iii. iii. 18:
[No action of division] in relation to commonty-lands was competent by our law till 1695, c. 38, which authorised the division of commonties before the Court of Session at the suit of any having interest.Sc. 1890 Bell Dict. Law Scot. 335:
An action of division and sale does not seem to be competent unless the property is held pro indiviso.
2. (See quot.)Sc. 1909 G. G. Ramsay Ann. Tacitus 278:
The word “division” is used in a similar way [to distinctio] in Scotland. If you are told, in a street, that a particular shop or house is “in the next division” it means “in the next block of houses,” i.e. beyond the next side street on the same side.
