Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1773, 1838, 1927
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PRAEPOSITURA, n. Sc. Law: the right of a wife to incur debts on behalf of her husband for food and household requirements, "the managership of a married woman in domestic matters . . . entitling her to pledge her husband's credit for necessaries" (Sc. 1946 A. D. Gibb Legal Terms 66). [pripozɪ′tjurə]Sc. 1773 Erskine Institute i. vi. § 26:
A praepositura may be constituted, either expressly by a written commission or factory, or tacitly, when the wife has been in use for a tract of time together, without a formal mandate, to act for her husband.Sc. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 761:
Praepositura of a wife. Where a wife is praeposita negotiis by her husband, that is, intrusted with the management either of a particular branch, or of his whole affairs, all the contracts she enters into, and even the debts due by her for goods . . . are effectual against the husband, though not against herself — for she acts for her husband.Sc. 1927 Gloag and Henderson Intro. Law Scot. 522:
The husband may at his pleasure terminate the praepositura. He may do so formally by means of Inhibition . . . Without resorting to Inhibition, a husband may, by notification to a tradesman, free himself from liability to that tradesman.
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"Praepositura n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 20 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/praepositura>
