Definition
A treasurer; specifically, an officer charged with the receipt, custody, and disbursement of public or institutional funds. The term appears in historical legal texts, particularly Scottish and early English sources, as a variant spelling or Latinized form of "treasurer."
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A treasurer.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Not independently listed; the term is a variant of "treasurer," defined as one who has charge of a treasure or treasury, especially an officer who receives and disburses public revenues.
The gap between common and legal usage here is minimal, but researchers should note that while the ordinary meaning simply denotes a financial custodian, the legal term in historical texts most often refers to a specific public officer whose duties, authority, and accountability were defined by charter, statute, or royal appointment — not merely a private individual handling funds.
Why It Matters in Research
THESAURER is a variant spelling encountered in Scottish legal records and early English state trials. Researchers working with pre-nineteenth century Scottish sources, in particular, should recognize it as the standard Scots term for the Lord High Treasurer or a public treasurer, rather than a mere misspelling or corruption. The term appears in the State Trials (3 St. Trials, 691) in this official capacity.
The primary research trap is treating THESAURER as a Latin term when it is more accurately a Scots or anglicized variant. It is distinct from the Latin THESAURUS (treasury or treasure) and THESAURIUS (treasurer in ecclesiastical or civil Latin usage), though all three can appear in close proximity in historical documents and may be conflated by modern readers.
Researchers moving from THESAURER into connected doctrine should also be aware of the Latin maxims preserved in the historical dictionaries under the related headings THESAURUS INVENTUS and THESAURUS ABSCONDITUS, which govern treasure-trove — a separate but frequently adjacent subject in old English and Scottish law. The appearance of THESAURER in a source does not imply the document concerns treasure-trove; the proximity of these terms in historical dictionaries is an artifact of alphabetical arrangement, not subject-matter connection.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's (1st Ed.) and Burrill's both treat THESAURER tersely, defining it simply as "treasurer" and citing 3 State Trials, 691 as authority. Black's (2nd Ed.) expands the surrounding entries considerably, providing substantive treatment of THESAURUS, THESAURUS ABSCONDITUS, and THESAURUS INVENTUS, but offers no greater elaboration on THESAURER itself beyond the same single-line definition.
The consistency across all three sources signals that THESAURER was never a term requiring elaborate doctrinal exposition — its legal content was entirely carried by the office of treasurer, not by the spelling variant. The historical dictionaries use it as a cross-reference anchor rather than an independent entry with distinct legal meaning.
What the historical sources miss: none of the shelf dictionaries clarify the specifically Scottish usage or explain why the variant form appears in the State Trials. Researchers who encounter THESAURER in a Scottish context and consult only Black's may not realize they are dealing with a Scots legal officer whose role and powers differed in important respects from an English treasurer appointed under the common law.
Jurisdictional Note
The term is most at home in Scottish legal sources and early English state documents. In modern usage it is obsolete in both jurisdictions; "treasurer" is universal. Researchers working with Scottish records prior to the Acts of Union (1707) should consult Scots legal sources rather than English common law references to understand the full scope of the office.