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: 1718-1749, 1818
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†ENACT, v. Sc. usage: to pledge (oneself); to undertake.Lnk. 1718 J.P.s Lnk. (S.H.S. 1931) 234:
Therefore I, be thir presents, ennacts myself in the Court Books . . . that . . . I shall never be seen within the bounds of the said shire of Lanark at any time thereafter.Sc. 1721–22 R. Wodrow Sufferings I. 347:
They oblige him to enact himself to depart the Kingdom, and never to return without License.Rnf. 1749 W. Hector Judicial Rec. (1878) 120:
Procurator Fiscall craves decreet of Contumacy against Defender Leechman, and that the other Defender may compear and enact.
Hence ppl.adj. enacted, in phr. on enacted caution, having given security.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xxxix.:
She will be at freedom the morn, on enacted caution that she shall leave Scotland in four weeks.
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"Enact v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/enact>
