A ploughgate was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 land measurement, used in the south and the east of the country. It was supposed to be the area that eight ox

Ox

An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...

en were said to be able to plough in one year. Because of the variable land quality in Scotland, this could be a number of different actual land areas. There were also regional discrepancies, but it was generally considered to be just over 100 Scottish acres

Acre (Scots)

A Scottish acre was a land measurement used in the country. It was standardised in 1661. English acres were imposed in 1824 by an Act of Parliament, and the metric system is also used in Scotland.Equivalent to -* Scottish measures** 4 roods* Metric system...

 on average.

Many sources say that four ploughgates made up a daugh, but in other places it would have appeared to have been the equivalent of one daugh exactly. Ploughgates were subdivided into oxgang

Oxgang

An oxgang or bovate is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, and so could be as low as 15.Skene in Celtic Scotland says:...

s; the most common division appears to have been eight to a ploughgate.

See also

• Obsolete Scottish units of measurement
  Obsolete Scottish units of measurement
  Scotland had a distinct system of measures and weights until at least the late 18th century, based on the ell as a unit of length, the stone as a unit of mass and the boll and the firlot as units of dry measure...
  
  
  • In the East Highlands
    Scottish Highlands
    The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
    
    :
    • Rood
      Rood (Scots)
      A Scottish rood was a land measurement of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was in greatest use in the South East of Scotland, and along the border, whereas in the north various other systems were used, based on the land's productivity, rather than actual area...
      
      
    • Scottish acre
      Acre (Scots)
      A Scottish acre was a land measurement used in the country. It was standardised in 1661. English acres were imposed in 1824 by an Act of Parliament, and the metric system is also used in Scotland.Equivalent to -* Scottish measures** 4 roods* Metric system...
      
       = 4 roods
    • Oxgang
      Oxgang
      An oxgang or bovate is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, and so could be as low as 15.Skene in Celtic Scotland says:...
      
       (Damh-imir) = the area an ox could plow in a year (around 20 acres)
    • Ploughgate (?) = 8 oxgangs
    • Daugh
      Davoch
      The Davoch, Davach or Daugh is an ancient Scottish land measurement. All of these terms are cognate with modern Scottish Gaelic Dabhach. The word Dabh or Damh means an ox , but Dabhach can also refer to a "tub", so may indicate productivity...
      
       (Dabhach) = 4 ploughgates
  • In the West Highlands
    Scottish Highlands
    The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
    
    :
    • Groatland
      Groatland
      A groatland, also known as a fourpenceland, fourpennyland or “Còta bàn” was a Scottish land measurement. It was so called, because the annual rent paid on it was a Scottish “groat” .- See also :...
      
       - (Còta bàn) = basic unit
    • Pennyland
      Pennyland
      A pennyland is an old Scottish land measurement. It was found in the West Highlands, and also Galloway, and believed to be of Norse origin. It is frequently found in minor placenames.Skene in Celtic Scotland says:The Rev...
      
       (Peighinn) = 2 groatlands
    • Quarterland
      Quarterland
      A Quarterland or Ceathramh was a Scottish land measurement. It was used mainly in the west and north.It was supposed to be equivalent to eight fourpennylands, roughly equivalent to a quarter of a markland. However in Islay, a quarterland was equivalent to a quarter of an ounceland...
      
       (Ceathramh) = 4 pennylands (8 groatlands)
    • Ounceland
      Ounceland
      An ounceland is a traditional Scottish land measurement. It was found in the West Highlands, and Hebrides. In Eastern Scotland, other measuring systems were used instead. It was equivalent to 20 pennylands or one eighth of a markland. Like those measurements, it is based on the rent paid, rather...
      
       (Tir-unga) = 4 quarterlands (32 groatlands)
    • Markland
      Markland (Scots)
      A markland or merkland is an old Scottish unit of land measurement.There was some local variation in the equivalences, for example, in some places eight ouncelands were equal to one markland, but in others, such as Islay, a markland was twelve ouncelands...
      
      (Marg-fhearann) = 8 Ouncelands (varied)