SCOT

(Sax. sceat, part or portion, in the sense of contribution.) This old word has pa ed into various ordinary expre ions, such as " scot-free," ., and at one time found its way into the Italian language (Dante, Purgatorio). In English law it is still retained in the phrase " inhabitants paying scot and lot," which has long been held to mean paying parochial rates, and constitutes one of the old rights of voting in various boroughs existing before the Reform Act. [s. 1103]