Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1773, 1896
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MUTUUM, n. Sc. Law: A contract by which the borrower of goods which are by nature consumed in being put to use, e.g. food, drink, etc., agrees to make repayment of a like quantity of the same goods instead of the actual goods borrowed (Sc. 1946 A. D. Gibb Legal Terms 58). [′mjutjuʌm]Sc. 1773 Erskine Institute III. i. § 18:
Corn, wine, etc., cannot be put to use without the destruction of the subject. From this necessity has risen the contract of mutuum, by which the borrower becomes the proprietor of the subject given in loan.Sc. 1896 W. K. Morton Manual Law Scot. 193:
Loan or Mutuum — Such transactions are not common in the present day; but an example is seen in steelbow goods, such as dung or straw given to a farm tenant at the commencement of his lease, under obligation to leave the like quantity and quality at its expiry.
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"Mutuum n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/mutuum>
