The Collaborative International Dictionary
Oxgang \Ox"gang`\, n. [Ox + gang, n., 1.] (O. Eng. Law) See Bovate.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context historical English) The area of land that could be plowed by an ox in a year, ⅛ hide or carucate and notionally 15 acres. 2 (context historical Scottish) The similar Scottish concept, ⅛ of a ploughgate and notionally 12½ or 13 Scottish acres.
Wikipedia
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:
"in the eastern district there is a uniform system of land denomination consisting of ' dabhachs', ' ploughgates' and 'oxgangs', each 'dabhach' consisting of four 'ploughgates' and each 'ploughgate' containing eight 'oxgangs'. "As soon as we cross the great chain of mountains [the Grampian Mountains] separating the eastern from the western waters, we find a different system equally uniform. The 'ploughgates' and 'oxgangs' disappear, and in their place we find 'dabhachs' and ' pennylands'. The portion of land termed a 'dabhach' is here also called a 'tirung' or ' ounceland', and each 'dabhach' contains 20 pennylands."An oxgang is also known as a bovate, from bovata, a medieval Latinisation of the word, derived from the Latin bōs, meaning ox, bullock or cow. Oxen, through the Scottish Gaelic word Damh or Dabh, also provided the root of the land measurement ' Daugh.'
In Scotland, 'oxgang' occurs in Oxgangs, a southern suburb of Edinburgh, and in Oxgang, an area of the town of Kirkintilloch.
Usage examples of "oxgang".
There is much shouting, in the mutually incomprehensible accents of Oxgangs and the Heriot-Watt Robot Lab.
What he did not like was being sat on his arse in a decrepit sub office like Oxgangs for hours on end, catching calls, which in practice rarely came in, dealing with theoretical evil-doers who were, in practice, tucked up in bed.
She had just picked up the first of the weekend reports, from the Oxgangs police office, when there was a faint knock on her door.
I want to talk to you about something that happened a week or so back, when you were on nights, minding the Oxgangs office.
There is much shouting in the mutually incomprehensible accents of Oxgangs and the Herriott-Watt Robot Lab.