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.
Quotation dates: 1701-1731, 1788, 1845
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†EXPECTANT, n. The prospective occupier of a post; esp. a candidate for the ministry in the Scottish Church; a probationer (Sc. 1808 Jam.).Sc. 1701–31 R. Wodrow Analecta (M.C. 1843) III. 24:
Mr Ephraim Melvill, then an expectant . . . preached that day.Sc. 1721 J. Dundas Abridgement Acts. Gen. Assembly 97:
In the Trial of Expectants before their Entry to the Ministry, — they shall first add, and make the Exercise publickly.Sc. 1788 Scots Mag. (Feb.) 97:
Came on before the High Court of Justiciary, the trial of Allan Macfarlane officer or expectant of excise, lately in Greenock, now in Edinburgh.Sc. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 I. 565 Note:
Agreeing with an expectant to take upon himself the duties of the cure.
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"Expectant n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/expectant>
