Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1875, 1939
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VIS MAJOR, n. Sc. Law: a circumstance, such as a natural disaster, which cannot be reasonably expected or prevented, an act of God, a Damnum Fatale, which excludes responsibility for loss, damage or the non-performance of a contract (Sc. 1896 W. K. Morton Manual 320).Sc. 1875 Session Cases (1874–5) 280:
A gale of extraordinary violence, amounting to vis major.Sc. 1939 Gloag & Henderson Intro. Law Scot. 388:
The terms vis major, Act of God, damnum fatale, are not definable beyond the general statement that they connote an occurrence which no reasonable man would foresee and guard against.
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"Vis Major n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/vis_major>
