Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1773, 1824-1837
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APPROBATE, v. Sc. law: to give formal assent to, to approve or accept as valid. Esp. in phr. to approbate and reprobate, to assent to part of a deed, and object against the rest — a course which the law does not admit of. — Also, transf. in non-legal applications.Sc. 1773 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. 465:
The grantee does not in such case approbate and reprobate the same deed: he homologates that of which he claims the benefit . . . and only objects against a separate deed [etc.].Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet Letter xiii.:
Would you approbate and reprobate, sir, in the same breath of your mouth?Sc. 1836 Blackw. Mag. XXXIX. 662/2:
You cannot approbate and reprobate the same instrument.Sc. 1836–1837 Sir W. Hamilton Metaph. Lect. xv. (1859) I. 280:
I approbate the one, I reprobate the other.
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"Approbate v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/approbate>
