retourableadj.
/rᵻˈtʊərəbl/, /rᵻˈtɔːrəbl/, U.S. /ˌrəˈtʊ(ə)rəbəl/, /ˌriˈtʊ(ə)rəbəl/ Scots Law (now historical).
Of a brieve: that is required to be returned to chancery with a report of action taken.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > right of possession or ownership > right to succeed to title, position, or estate > succession > [adjective] > relating to inheritance > return to Chancery relative to heir
retoured1597
retourable1681
1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. iv. iii. § 10 The brieves not retourable are four, which are not decreets, but precepts directed to sheriffs, etc..and therefore they are called pleadable brieves.
a1768 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. (1773) II. iii. viii. §61 The brief of inquest has been from the beginning a retourable brief.
1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 861 The brieve of inquest..is retourable to Chancery whence it issued.
1958 Introd. Sc. Legal Hist. (Stair Soc.) 173 This was a retourable brieve, and, accordingly, if the jury was satisfied that the claim was proved, they served the claimant as heir, and the clerk prepared the ‘Retour’ to the Chancery from which the brieve had emanated.
1997 G. Barrow in R. H. Britnell Pragmatic Literacy xi. 133 A ‘retourable’ brieve was one which required the addressee, typically a sheriff, to return it to chancery with a sealed schedule stating what action had been taken in response to the royal command.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1681