Definition
A term from Scots law meaning agreement or contract. In historical Scottish legal usage, *agreeance* functioned as a synonym for *agreement* in both the general sense (a meeting of minds) and the more formal sense (an enforceable contract or covenant between parties). The term does not carry technical distinctions beyond its synonym; it is chiefly significant as a marker of Scots legal drafting and pleading conventions rather than as a term with independent doctrinal content.
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Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): The sharing of a view or opinion; agreement.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Webster's 1913 does not include *agreeance* as a standard entry, reflecting its limited circulation in general English usage during that period.
The common English use of *agreeance* — where it appears at all — is informal and often criticized as a redundant variant of *agreement*. In legal usage, the term was not informal or redundant; it was the standard Scots law term for a binding contract or covenant, appearing in formal instruments and statutory texts. A researcher encountering *agreeance* in a Scots legal document should read it as carrying the full legal weight of *agreement* or *contract*, not as a casual synonym.
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Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working in the Law Mind corpus will encounter *agreeance* almost exclusively in one of two contexts: (1) Scottish legal instruments, court records, or statutes from the medieval through early modern period, and (2) English-language legal dictionaries that include Scots law appendices or entries.
The term's near-total absence from English common law sources means that its appearance in a document is itself a jurisdictional signal — it points toward Scots law, Scots drafting conventions, or a source that draws on Scottish legal authority. Researchers should not assume that *agreeance* in a historical document indicates informal or uncertain language; to the contrary, it was precise Scots legal vocabulary.
Burrill's citation to Skene's *De Verborum Significatione* is notable. Sir John Skene's glossary (published 1597) is one of the foundational sources for early modern Scots legal terminology, and its usage confirms that *agreeance* was a term of art in formal Scottish legal writing, not a colloquialism. Researchers tracing the Scots law origins of contract terminology should treat Skene as a primary source, not merely a dictionary authority.
One research trap: because *agreeance* sounds archaic or informal to modern ears shaped by English common law usage, it is occasionally miscategorized in document indexes or summaries as a non-legal term. When reviewing older finding aids or catalog descriptions, verify the original document before accepting a characterization that dismisses the term.
There is no meaningful modern legal usage of *agreeance* in U.S., English, or Commonwealth jurisdictions outside Scotland. Contemporary Scots law uses *agreement* in alignment with broader UK legal drafting norms.
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Historical Dictionary Support
All three source dictionaries are in substantive agreement: *agreeance* means agreement or contract, confined to Scots law. Black's (1st and 2nd editions) and Burrill's converge on identical content, with Burrill adding the Skene citation that the Black's entries omit.
The Skene quotation preserved in Burrill — *"Quhilk contract and agreeance was ratified"* — is genuinely instructive because it shows the term used in coordination with *contract*, suggesting the two words were near-synonyms in Scots drafting rather than terms with distinct technical registers. This pairing implies that Scots lawyers of the period did not necessarily distinguish *agreeance* (as a broader meeting of minds) from *contract* (as a formal binding instrument) with precision; the terms could be used together for reinforcement or as stylistic doublets.
None of the source dictionaries address whether *agreeance* carried any substantive legal distinctions within Scots law (e.g., whether it encompassed informal agreements that fell short of enforceable contracts). This is a gap in the historical dictionary record. Researchers requiring that level of precision should consult Stair's *Institutions of the Law of Scotland* or Craig's *Jus Feudale* rather than relying on these dictionary entries alone.
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Jurisdictional Note
*Agreeance* is a term of Scots law with no recognized usage in English common law or American legal tradition. Researchers applying it outside a Scottish legal context should treat it as a historical artifact of Scots drafting rather than as a term carrying operative legal meaning in the relevant jurisdiction.
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