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.
EAVESDROP, n. Sc. law: the servitude by which one has the right to shed roof water on an adjoining property. See easing-drop, s.v. Easin(S), 6 (2), and Stillicide.Sc. 1754 J. Erskine Principles ii. ix. 9:
No proprietor can build so as to throw the rain-water falling from his own house immediately upon his neighbour's ground, without a special servitude. . . . It sometimes becomes difficult to distinguish whether an eavesdrop arises from a right of property or of servitude.Sc. 1890 Bell Dict. Law Scot. 350:
The servitude of eaves-drop or stillicide imposes on the servient tenement the burden of receiving the eaves-drop from the dominant tenement.Sc. 1932 Green's Encycl. XIII. 511:
A proprietor may acquire the right to build close to his boundary and to throw water from his roof on to his neighbour's ground. This right is known as the servitude of stillicide, or eavesdrop, or easing-drop.
