public policy

en-noun

public policy (countable and uncountable, plural public policies)

1993 Henry H. Perritt, Jr. "Knowbots, Permissions Headers and Contract Law", paper for the conference on Technological Strategies for Protecting Intellectual Property in the Networked Multimedia Environment
"The licensee exceeding the use restrictions would argue that it violates public policy to enforce the restrictions and therefore that state contract law may not impose liability for their violation."

"Construction contract provisions against public policy.
"(A) Any provision of a construction contract, agreement, or understanding that waives rights under a surety bond is void and unenforceable as against public policy."

2001 Ohio Revised Code TITLE [41] XLI LABOR AND INDUSTRY» CHAPTER 4113: MISCELLANEOUS LABOR PROVISIONS 4113.62

"In Johnson v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal determined that a provision of a contract limiting the discovery of the identity of a sperm donor was against public policy and that the privacy interest did not protect against disclosure of this information. Although the court's analysis of the public policy exception to the enforcement of contracts was unnecessary, the opinion properly balances California's and petitioners' interests against an anonymous donor's privacy right."

2001 Plosker, JA "Privacy on thin ice? Considering the California Court of Appeal decision in Johnson v. Superior Court". Jurimetrics 2001 Fall;42(1):73-83

(law) The set of policies (laws, plans, actions, behaviors) of a government; plans and methods of action that govern that society; a system of laws, courses of action, and priorities directing a government action.


perform

en-verb

perform (third-person singular simple present performs, present participle performing, simple past and past participle performed)

performs (present singular third-person)
performing (participle present)
performed (participle past)
performed (past)
perform (infinitive)

From Middle English performen, parfournen (“to perform”), from Anglo-Norman performer, parfourmer, alteration of Old French parfornir, parfurnir (“to complete, accomplish, perform”), from par- + fornir, furnir (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Frankish *frummjan (“to accomplish, furnish”), from Proto-Germanic *frumjaną, *framjaną (“to further, promote”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“in front, forth”), *per- (“forward, out”). Cognate with Old High German frummen (“to do, execute, accomplish, provide”), Old Saxon frummian (“to perform, promote”), Old English fremman (“to perform, execute, carry out, accomplish”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌿𐌼𐌾𐌰𐌽 (frumjan, “to promote, accomplish”). See also frame, from. Modernly, rather than Proto-Germanic *frumjaną, associated with Latin formō, analyzable as per- + form.

representar

to exhibit an expected pattern of behavior

Failure to perform a contract on time may constitute a breach of contract.

(law) To act in a way set forth in a contract.

(transitive) To act in accordance with (a contract); to fulfill one’s terms of (a contract).

They entered into an agreement and now they are obliged to perform.

(intransitive) To fulfill contractually agreed-to terms.

изпълнявам

(law) to fulfill contractually agreed-to terms


raise

en-verb

raise (third-person singular simple present raises, present participle raising, simple past and past participle raised)

raises (present singular third-person)
raising (participle present)
raised (participle past)
raised (past)

From Middle English reysen, raisen, reisen, from Old Norse reisa (“to raise”), from Proto-Germanic *raisijaną, *raizijaną (“to raise”), causative form of Proto-Germanic *rīsaną (“to rise”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- (“to rise, arise”). According to Kroonen (2013), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to stir, rise”).
Cognate with Old English rāsian (“to explore, examine, research”), Old English rīsan (“to seize, carry off”), Old English rǣran (“to raise”). Doublet of rear.

whakahī

Referring to lifting the pitch of a musical note

hāpai

Of lifting an object to a higher elevation

hī

Refers to raising an eyebrow in scepticism

aradan qaldırmaq

(military) to remove or break up (a blockade); to relinquish (a siege), or cause this to be done

raise oneself up by one's own bootstraps

There should be some consideration (i.e., payment or exchange) to raise a use.

(transitive) To create, increase or develop.

(law) To create; to constitute (a use, or a beneficial interest in property).


vice

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English vice, from Old French vice, from Latin vitium (“fault or blemish”). Displaced native Old English unþēaw.

(law) Any of various crimes related (depending on jurisdiction) to weapons, prostitution, pornography, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.

поквара

crime related to prostitution, pornography, gambling, alcohol, or drugs


Michaelmas

From Middle English Michelmasse, Myghelmesse; equivalent to Michael + -mas.

(UK, Ireland, law, education) Ellipsis of Michaelmas term.


try

en-verb

try (third-person singular simple present tries, present participle trying, simple past and past participle tried)

tries (present singular third-person)
trying (participle present)
tried (participle past)
tried (past)
try (infinitive)

From Middle English trien (“to try a legal case”), from Anglo-Norman trier (“to try a case”), Old French trier (“to choose, pick out or separate from others, sift, cull”), of uncertain origin. It is probably related to Italian tritare (“to grind; to sort; to analyze”) (see also French trier). Alternatively, believed to be a metathetic variation of Old French tirer (“to pull out, snatch”), from Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (tiran, “to tear away, remove”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to tear, tear apart”), see tear. Related to Occitan triar (“to pick out, choose from among others”), although the Occitan verb could also be a borrowing from French. Alternatively or by confluence, the Old French is from Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin *triare, of unknown origin.
Replaced native Middle English cunnen (“to try”) (from Old English cunnian), Middle English fandien (“to try, prove”) (from Old English fandian), and Middle English costnien (“to try, tempt, test”) (from Old English costnian).

cog

[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔aɪ̯]

[t̠͡ɹ̠̊˔ʷaɪ̯]

don't try to teach grandma how to suck eggs

He was tried and executed.

The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

I sit in front of the mirror and try myself. I am no impartial judge, otherwise I would have had myself executed several times over by now.

1987, Hadi Khorsandi, “It Didn’t Quite Work Out—2”, in Ehssan Javan, transl., The Ayatollah and I:

Sansa pretends to gather everyone in the great hall to try Arya, and at the last moment reveals she’s actually trying Littlefinger for murder and treason, although I think everyone in that room already knew what was going on except him.

2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:

To test, to work out.
(law) To put on trial.


cumulative

en-adj

cumulative (comparative more cumulative, superlative most cumulative)

more cumulative (comparative)
most cumulative (superlative)

From cumulate + -ive. Compare also French cumulatif, Italian cumulativo and Spanish cumulativo.

The state wants to bring in ten blood-spatter experts to testify. Your Honor, that is cumulative testimony.

(law) (of evidence, witnesses, etc.) Intended to illustrate an argument that has already been demonstrated excessively.


counselor

counselors (plural)
in Canada (US alternative)

From Middle English conseillour, counseiler, from Anglo-Norman cunseiler, cunseiliour, from Old French conseillier, from Latin consiliator, agent noun from cōnsilior (“I take counsel”), from cōnsilium (“plan, council, wisdom, advice”). Compare councilor. Displaced native Middle English redere, Middle English redesman, and Middle English redyeve, from Old English rǣdġiefa (literally “advice giver”).


credibility

en-noun

credibility (countable and uncountable, plural credibilities)

Borrowed from French crédibilité, from Medieval Latin credibilitas, from Latin credibilis. By surface analysis, credible + -ity.

(law) Believability of statements by a witness, as measured by whether the testimony is probable or improbable when judged by common experience.

верагоднасць

law: whether or not a witness is being truthful


tenor

tenor (countable and uncountable, plural tenors)

From Middle English tenour, from Anglo-Norman tenour, from Old French tenor (“substance, contents, meaning, sense; tenor part in music”), from Latin tenor (“course, continuance; holder”), from teneō (“I hold”). In music, from the notion of the one who holds the melody, as opposed to the countertenor.

der

Than he shall delyuer to vs a tenour of that he ought to do.

1523, Lord Berners, The Chronicle of Froissart:

(law) An exact copy of a writing, set forth in the words and figures of it. It differs from purport, which is only the substance or general import of the instrument.


default

en-noun

default (countable and uncountable, plural defaults)

→ Russian: дефо́лт (defólt)

From Middle English defaut, defaute, from Old French defaute (“fault, defect, failure, culpability, lack”), ultimately from Latin de- (“away”) + fallo (“deceive, cheat, escape notice of”).

der

(law) The failure of a defendant to appear and answer a summons and complaint.


default

en-verb

default (third-person singular simple present defaults, present participle defaulting, simple past and past participle defaulted)

defaults (present singular third-person)
defaulting (participle present)
defaulted (participle past)
defaulted (past)

(intransitive) To fail to meet an obligation.

(intransitive, law) To fail to appear and answer a summons and complaint.


motion

en-noun

motion (countable and uncountable, plural motions)

Inherited from Middle English mocioun, mocion, from Anglo-Norman motion, Middle French motion, and their etymon Latin mōtiō (“movement, motion”), related to movēre, from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- (“to move”).

der

perpetual motion machine of the first kind

perpetual motion machine of the second kind

(law) A formal request, oral or written, made to a judge or court of law to obtain an official court ruling or order for a legal action to be taken by, or on behalf of, the movant.


confirmation

en-noun

confirmation (countable and uncountable, plural confirmations)

[ˌkʰɑɱ.fɚˈmeɪ.ʃn̩]

[ˌkʰɒɱ.fəˈmeɪ.ʃn̩]

From Middle English confirmacioun, from Old French confirmacion, from Latin cōnfirmātiō, noun of process from cōnfirmātus (“confirmed”), perfect passive participle of cōnfirmāre, from con- (“with”) + firmāre (“to firm or strengthen”).
Morphologically confirm + -ation.

(law) An act whereby something conditional or voidable is made sure and unavoidable, especially the possession of an estate.


moot

en-adj

moot (comparative more moot, superlative most moot)

more moot (comparative)
most moot (superlative)

From Middle English mōt, ȝemōt, from Old English *mōt, ġemōt (“meeting”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtą, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to encounter, come”). Cognate with Scots mut, mote (“meeting, assembly”), Low German Mööt (“meeting”), Moot (“meeting”), archaic Dutch (ge)moet (“meeting”), Danish møde (“meeting”), Swedish möte (“meeting”), Norwegian møte (“meeting”), Icelandic mót (“meeting, tournament, meet”). Related to meet.

cog

(Canada, US, chiefly law) Being an exercise of thought; academic.


office

Tok Pisin: opis

→ Bulgarian: о́фис (ófis)

→ Cebuano: opis

→ Iban: opis

→ Marshallese: wōpij

→ Russian: о́фис (ófis)

→ Swahili: afisi

Microsoft Office
office (disambiguation)

From Middle English office, from Old French office, from Latin officium (“personal, official, or moral duty; official position; function; ceremony, esp. last rites”), contracted from opificium (“construction: the act of building or the thing built”), from opifex (“doer of work, craftsman”) + -ium (“-y”, forming actions), from op- (“work”) + -i- (connective) + -fex (combining form of faciō (“to do, to make”)).
The use in reference to office software is a genericization of various proprietary program suites, such as Microsoft Office.

zyrë

room(s) or building used for non-manual work

If they find the treason or felony... of the party accused... the king is thereupon, by virtue of this office found, intitled to have his forfeitures.

1768, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, volume III, page 259:

If the Crown claimed the land of an idiot, the person had first to be found an idiot by office.

1977, John McDonald Burke, Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law, volume I, page 280:

inquest of office
inquest of office#English

(UK law, historical) Clipping of inquest of office:


protest

en-verb

protest (third-person singular simple present protests, present participle protesting, simple past and past participle protested)

protests (present singular third-person)
protesting (participle present)
protested (participle past)
protested (past)

PIE word
 *tréyes
From the Middle English verb protesten, from Old French protester, from Latin prōtestārī, present active infinitive of prōtestor, from prō + testor, from testis (“witness”).

(law, transitive) to make a solemn written declaration, in due form, on behalf of the holder, against all parties liable for any loss or damage to be sustained by non-acceptance or non-payment of (a bill or note). This should be made by a notary public, whose seal it is the usual practice to affix.


EPIC

(law) Acronym of Estates and Protected Individuals Code.


enter

enter (third-person singular simple present enters, present participle entering, simple past and past participle entered)

enters (present singular third-person)
entering (participle present)
entered (participle past)
entered (past)
enter (infinitive)

From Middle English entren, from Old French entrer, from Latin intrō (“enter”, verb), from intrā (“inside”). Has been spelled as "enter" for several centuries even in the United Kingdom, although British English and the English of many Commonwealth Countries (e.g. Australia, Canada) retain the "re" ending for many words such as centre, fibre, spectre, theatre, calibre, sombre, lustre, and litre.

it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God

I am pleased to notify the Congress of my intent to enter into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Government of Singapore.

2003 February 4, The President of the United States, “NOTIFICATION TO ENTER INTO A FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE”, in U.S. Government Printing Office, retrieved 2013-09-09:

(intransitive, law) To become a party to an agreement, treaty, etc.

This Act shall enter into force on 01 March 1998.

2005, United Nations, Dispositions Législatives Et Réglementaires Nationales Relatives À la Prévention Et À L'élimination Du Terrorisme International, →ISBN, page 215:

(law, intransitive) To become effective; to come into effect.

(law) To go into or upon, as lands, and take actual possession of them.

to enter a writ, appearance, rule, or judgment

(transitive, law) To place in regular form before the court, usually in writing; to put upon record in proper from and order


rule

en-noun

rule (countable and uncountable, plural rules)

From Middle English reule, rewle, rule, borrowed from Old French riule, reule, from Latin regula (“straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern”), from regō (“to keep straight, direct, govern, rule”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of rail, regal, regula, and rigol.

doublet

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class V § 613. Habit

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class I § 82. Conformity

(law) An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit.


option

From French option, from Latin optiō (“choice; option; act of choosing”), from optō (“I choose, select”). Equivalent to opt + -ion.

der

There's a book out on us and there's gonna be a movie based on the book. ABC has bought the option for a movie to be made specially for T.V.

1977 August 13, Pala Bennett, Mary Jo Risher, Ann Foreman, “"I'm A Mother, And I'm A Good One."”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 6, page 8:

(finance, law) A contract giving the holder the right to buy or sell an asset at a set strike price; can apply to financial market transactions, or to ordinary transactions for tangible assets such as a residence or automobile.

derivative

At that time every emigrant who was made aware of such a notification submitted his application for option to the British Consuls within the period prescribed.

1928, Appeal to the Noble English Nation by the Committee of the Defenders of the Rights of Palestinian Arab Emigrants to the Palestinian Citizenship, page 10:

A right of option, mostly in favour of the nationality of the predecessor State, has been accorded in most cases of partial State succession, either by treaty or by domestic legislation.

1998, Venice Commission, Consequences of State Succession for Nationality, →ISBN, page 45:

This group constitutes around 9 percent of the total number of acquisitions of Dutch nationality through option.

2012, Oliver W. Vonk, Dual Nationality in the European Union: A Study on Changing Norms […], →ISBN, page 243, note 154:

(law, uncountable) The acquiring or retention of a nationality through personal choice as a right, bypassing selective legal mechanisms for naturalization, especially in cases where a territory is transferred or passed on from one state to another.


embrace

en-verb

embrace (third-person singular simple present embraces, present participle embracing, simple past and past participle embraced)

embraces (present singular third-person)
embracing (participle present)
embraced (participle past)
embraced (past)

The verb is derived from Middle English embracen (“to clasp in one's arms, embrace; to reach out eagerly for, welcome; to enfold, entwine; to ensnare, entangle; to twist, wrap around; to gird, put on; to lace; to be in or put into bonds; to put a shield on the arm; to grasp (a shield or spear); to acquire, take hold of; to receive; to undertake; to affect, influence; to incite; to unlawfully influence a jury; to surround; to conceal, cover; to shelter; to protect; to comfort; to comprehend, understand”) [and other forms], from Old French embracer, embracier (“to kiss”) (modern French embrasser (“to kiss; (dated) to embrace, hug”)), from Late Latin *imbracchiāre, from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’)) + bracchium (“arm”). The English word is analysable as em- + brace. The noun is derived from the verb.

refn

From the collection of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

nb...

embrace, embrase, enbrace, enbracen, enbrase, enbrass, imbrace, imbrase, inbracen

cog

The puniſhment for the perſon embracing is by fine and impriſonment; and, for the juror ſo embraced, if it be by taking money, the puniſhment is (by divers ſtatutes of the reign of Edward III) perpetual infamy, impriſonment for a year, and forfeiture of the tenfold value.

1769, William Blackstone, “Of Offences against Public Justice”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, paragraph 18, page 140:

(transitive, law, figuratively, obsolete) To attempt to influence (a court, jury, etc.) corruptly; to practise embracery.


duress

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French duresse, from Latin duritia (“hardness”), from durus (“hard”).

(law) Restraint in which a person is influenced, whether by lawful or unlawful forceful compulsion of their liberty by monition or implementation of physical enforcement; legally for the incurring of civil liability, of a citizen's arrest, or of subrogation, or illegally for the committing of an offense, of forcing a contract, or of using threats.


quitrent

(law, taxation) A rent reserved in grants of land, by the payment of which the tenant is quit (absolved) from other service.

բահրա

a rent reserved in grants of land, by the payment of which the tenant is quit (absolved) from other service


quo warranto

Borrowed from Medieval Latin quō warrantō (“by what warrant”).

bor

(law) A writ brought before a proper tribunal, to inquire by what warrant a person or a corporation acts, or exercises certain powers.


breve

From Middle English breve, variant of bref, from Old French brieve, breve (feminine form of brief, bref), from Latin brevis (“short”).

(law) Any writ or precept under seal, issued out of any court.


peremptory

en-adj

peremptory (comparative more peremptory, superlative most peremptory)

more peremptory (comparative)
most peremptory (superlative)

From Anglo-Norman peremptorie, parentorie et al. (Modern French péremptoire), and its source, Latin peremptōrius (“deadly; precluding debate, decisive”), from perimō (“destroy, thwart”), from per- (“thorough”) + emō (“I obtain, buy”).

uder

there is no reason but if any of the outlawries be indeed without error, but it should be a peremptory plea to the person in a writ of error, as well as in any other action.

1596, Francis Bacon, Maxims of the Law, section II:

(law) Precluding debate or expostulation; not admitting of question or appeal

безапелационен

law: precluding debate or expostulation; not admitting of question or appeal

As this trial has now been postponed multiple times, there will be an adjournment to April 24, peremptory on the parties.

(law) (of a date or deadline) Absolutely requiring compliance or attendance; brooking no further delay; to proceed whether a party attends or not; final.


peremptory

Each side was allowed 20 peremptories, and the prosecution used 18 of its allotment.

2015 June 18, Justice Alito, Davis v. Ayala, Case No. 13-1428

(law) A challenge to the admission of a juror, without the challenger needing to show good cause.


avenage

From Old French avenage, from avene, from Latin avena (“oats”).

(obsolete, law) A quantity of oats paid by a tenant to a landlord in lieu of rent.


averpenny

en-noun

averpenny (countable and uncountable, plural averpennies)

(law, obsolete) Money paid by a tenant in lieu of the service of average.


perverse

en-adj

perverse (comparative more perverse or perverser, superlative most perverse or perversest)

more perverse (comparative)
perverser (comparative)
most perverse (superlative)
perversest (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-perverse.wav

From Middle English perverse, pervers, from Old French pervers, from Latin perversum (“thoroughly turned”), past participle of pervertere, from per- (“thoroughly”) + vertere (“to turn”).

извратен

Turned aside; hence, specifically, turned away from the (morally) right; willfully erring; wicked; perverted

(law, of a verdict) Ignoring the evidence or the judge's opinions.


incident

Recorded since 1412, from Middle French incident, from Latin incidens, the present active participle of incidō (“to happen, befall”), itself from in- (“on”) + -cidō, the combining form of cadō (“to fall”).

(law) Dependent upon, or appertaining to, another thing, called the principal.


bill of attainder

en-noun

bill of attainder (plural bills of attainder)

They resolved to copy a Tudor precedent and to proceed against him by bill of attainder. Doubts of law and defects of evidence would thus be cured

1920, Francis Charles Montague, The History of England, from the Accession of James I to the Restoration, page 1663:

Coupled with the Constitution's proscription of ex post facto laws is a similar prohibition against bills of attainder.

1998, Daniel E. Troy, Retroactive Legislation, page 56:

That the tax would take effect after some of the payments were made also raises issues. Says former Attorney General Richard Thornburg, also in an e-mail: "Such legislation could well run afoul of constitutional restrictions on bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, laws impairing the obligations of contract, unauthorized takings of property and the like.

2009 March 21, Jim McTague, “Would a Tax on Bonuses Be Constitutional?”, in Barron's:

(law) A legislative determination imposing punishment without trial.


ambulatory

en-adj

ambulatory (comparative more ambulatory, superlative most ambulatory)

more ambulatory (comparative)
most ambulatory (superlative)

The dispositions of a will are ambulatory until the death of the testator.

(law) Not yet legally fixed or settled; alterable.


avoidance

en-noun

avoidance (usually uncountable, plural avoidances)

From Middle English avoidaunce, from avoid + -ance.

оттегляне

A dismissing or a quitting; removal; withdrawal.

(law, obsolete) The act of annulling; annulment.


per se

Borrowed from Latin per sē (“by itself”), from per (“by, through”) and sē (“itself, himself, herself, themselves”).

bor+

The law makes drunk driving illegal per se.

In an effort to assist states that may have recently adopted or expect to adopt administrative per se, NHTSA has collected sample copies of forms and a brief description of the administrative procedures from selected states with in-place programs.

1986, Administrative Per Se: A Summary of State Forms and Procedures:

(law) Not leaving discretion to the judge to take into account additional factors that could rebut the judgment, deriving the qualification from the statute.


per se

Until recently Denmark hesitated to adopt a formal per se law, preferring to give more discretion to its judges, but the general practice was to take blood tests and to convict those accused under the classical law if the blood alcohol concentration was greater than 100 mg./100 ml.

1981, Hugh Laurence Ross, Deterrence of the Drinking Driver: An International Survey, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Transportation, page 80:

CBS (441 U.S. 1 [1979]) explains, the per se rule against price-fixing isn't to be taken literally.

2006, Sheldon Kimmel, How and why the Per Se Rule Against Price-fixing Went Wrong, page 1:

(law) That does not leave discretion to the judge to take into account additional factors that could rebut the judgment, deriving the qualification from the statute.


habeas corpus

en-noun

habeas corpus (plural habeas corpora or habeas corpuses)

habeas corpora (plural)
habeas corpuses (plural)

From Latin habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (“You (shall) have the body to be subjected to (examination)”), referring to the body of the detainee (not the body of a victim, similar to corpus delicti).

uder

(law) A writ ordering that a person be brought before a court or a judge, most frequently used to ensure that a person's imprisonment, detention, or commitment is legal.

fogva tartott személy bíróság elé állítására vagy szabadon bocsátására vonatkozó határozat/végzés/okirat


habeas corpus

en-verb

habeas corpus (third-person singular simple present habeas corpuses, present participle habeas corpusing, simple past and past participle habeas corpused)

habeas corpuses (present singular third-person)
habeas corpusing (participle present)
habeas corpused (participle past)
habeas corpused (past)

Hawley […] particularly desired, judging by his actions, to put polygamists out of existence, at the same time very mercifully habeas corpused all the prostitutes and their supporters[.]

1873 August 12, “The Fate of Judges and All Others Who Work Against Zion”, in The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star:

He saw that according to the fable typed on its lily white face one, John Grimaldi of Brooklyn, was summoned, advised, entreated, requested, ordered, corpus delictied, habeas corpused and generally invited to appear in said court[.]

1918, Frazier Hunt, “Pegging Away”, in Blown by the Draft:

(informal, law) To apply the legal principle of habeas corpus to an individual or situation.


pardon

en-noun

pardon (countable and uncountable, plural pardons)

From Middle English pardonen, from Old French pardoner (modern French pardonner), from Late Latin perdonare, from per- + donare, possibly a calque (if not vice-versa) of a Germanic word represented by Frankish *firgeban (“to forgive, give up completely”), from *fir- + *geban. Akin to Old High German fargeban, firgeban (“to forgive”), Old English forġiefan (“to forgive”). More at forgive.

cog

The President[…]shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July^([sic – meaning January]) 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

1974 September 8, Gerald R. Ford, 00:24 from the start, in Proclamation 4311, archived from the original on 2017-05-18, page 2:

But the president's most irreversible, almost God-like power is the authority granted to him under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, "to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses Against the United States. . . ."
The power is absolute-even a serial killer could be pardoned-and utterly unreviewable. It cannot be rescinded by the next president. The president may grant a pardon before a trial, after a trial, or without a trial. Once granted, a pardon can never be taken away.

2001, Barbara Olson, “The Final Frenzy: Finishing Touches on the Legend”, in The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House (Politics/Current Affairs), Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 7:

(law) An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.


pardon

en-verb

pardon (third-person singular simple present pardons, present participle pardoning, simple past and past participle pardoned)

pardons (present singular third-person)
pardoning (participle present)
pardoned (participle past)
pardoned (past)

The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

(transitive, law) To grant an official pardon for a crime.


avoid

avoid (third-person singular simple present avoids, present participle avoiding, simple past and past participle avoided)

avoids (present singular third-person)
avoiding (participle present)
avoided (participle past)
avoided (past)

From Middle English avoiden, from Anglo-Norman avoider, Old French esvuidier (“to empty out”), from es- + vuidier, from Vulgar Latin *vocitāre < Vulgar Latin *vocitum, ultimately related to Latin vacuus. Displaced native Old English forbūgan (literally “to bend away from”).

ncog

But Y seie, this testament is confermed of God; the lawe that was maad after foure hundrid and thritti yeer, makith not the testament veyn to auoide awei the biheest.

1596, Edmund Spenser, A View of the State of Ireland, Dublin: John Morrisson, 1809, reprint of the 1633 edition, p. 233,
[…] how can those graunts of the Kings be avoyded, without wronging of those lords, which had those lands and lordships given them?

(transitive, now law) To make void, to annul; to refute (especially a contract).

[…] in an action for trespassing upon land whereof the plaintiff is seised, if the defendant shews a title to the land by descent, and that therefore he had a right to enter, and gives colour to the plaintiff, the plaintiff may either traverse and totally deny the fact of the descent; or he may confess and avoid it, by replying, that true it is that such descent happened, but that since the descent the defendant himself demised the lands to the plaintiff for term of life.

1768, William Blackstone, chapter 20, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book III (Of Private Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 310:

(transitive, law) To defeat or evade; to invalidate.


feu

(Scots law, property law, historical) Land held in feudal tenure.


libel

en-noun

libel (countable and uncountable, plural libels)

From Middle English libel, from Old French libelle, from Latin libellus (“petition”, literally “booklet”).

uder

These provisions of law being in force, the steamer Rio Grande, owned, as was alleged, by persons in Mexico, being in the port of Mobile, in the Southern District of Alabama, certain materialmen, on the 26th of November, 1867, filed separate libels against her in the district court for the said district.

1873, United States Supreme Court, The Rio Grande, 86 U.S. 178,179

(law, countable) A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek.


c.

In English law, in the sense of "chapter", a preservation of Latin capitulum or caput (“head; heading, chapter”).

By the statute 1 and 2 Phil. and Mary c. 12 (1554), no distress of cattle can be driven out of the hundred where taken unless to a pound within 3 miles of the place of seizure. Where cattle are impounded the impounder is bound to supply them with sufficient food and water (12 and 13 Vict. c. 92, and 17 and 18 Vict. c. 60)…

1885, "Pound" in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. XIX, p. 648

(chiefly law) Abbreviation of chapter(s).


positive

en-adj

positive (comparative more positive, superlative most positive)

more positive (comparative)
most positive (superlative)

From Old French positif, from Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.

In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.

1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie:


puisne

puisne (comparative more puisne, superlative most puisne)

more puisne (comparative)
most puisne (superlative)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pós
Proto-Indo-European *-ti
Proto-Indo-European *pós-ti
Proto-Italic *posti
Latin poste
Latin post
Proto-Indo-European *íh₂
Latin ea
Latin posteā
Vulgar Latin *postius
Old French puis
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁tós
Proto-Italic *gnātos
Latin gnātus
Latin nātus
Old French né
Old French puisné
Middle French puisnébor.
English puisne
 PIE word
 *pós
From Anglo-Norman puisné (“later, more recent; junior; weakly”) [and other forms] and Middle French puisné (“born after (a specified person); younger, youngest; one who is born after (a specified person)”) (modern French puîné (“cadet (born after a sibling); a cadet (someone born after a sibling)”)), from puis (“after; since”) + né (“born”). Puis is derived from Old French pois (“after; since”), from Vulgar Latin *postius (“afterward”), from Latin posteā (“afterwards; hereafter; thereafter; next, then”), from post (“after; since”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pós (“afterwards”)) + ea (“these (things)”); and né from Latin nātus (“born”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”).

der

the puisne barons of the Court of Exchequer

(law) Inferior in rank, as designation of any justice, judge etc. other than the most senior.

a puisne date to eternity

a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature, London: […] William Godbid, for William Shrowsbery, […], published 1677, →OCLC:

(now law) Coming later in time; subsequent, secondary.


convict

en-verb

convict (third-person singular simple present convicts, present participle convicting, simple past and past participle convicted)

convicts (present singular third-person)
convicting (participle present)
convicted (participle past)
convicted (past)

From Middle English convicten, from Anglo-Norman convicter, from Latin convictus, the past participle of convincō (“to convict”). Doublet of convince. Displaced native Old English forwyrċan (“to convict, condemn”).

ncog

He was a convicted felon.

His remarks convicted him of a lack of sensitivity.

And his subjects wrung all they could wring / Out of temple and palace and store. / But when there seemed no more to bring, / His captors convicted the king / Of once having started a war, / And strangled the wretch with a string.

1936, Robert Frost, “The Vindictives”, in A Further Range:

(transitive, law) To find guilty, as a result of legal proceedings, or (informal) in a moral sense.


convict

(law) A person convicted of a crime by a judicial body.


foreign

en-adj

foreign (comparative more foreign, superlative most foreign)

more foreign (comparative)
most foreign (superlative)

domestic

antonym(s) of “from a different country”

From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”).
Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”).
The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).

der

(US, state law) From a different one of the states of the United States, as of a state of residence or incorporation.


maker

From Middle English maker, makere, equivalent to make + -er. Compare Scots makar, Saterland Frisian Moaker, West Frisian makker, Dutch maker, German Macher, Danish mager, Swedish makare. Doublet of makar.

(law) Someone who signs a promissory note, thereby becoming responsible for payment.


mag

(colloquial, law) Clipping of magistrate.


aver

en-verb

aver (third-person singular simple present avers, present participle averring or (obsolete) avering, simple past and past participle averred or (obsolete) avered)

avers (present singular third-person)
averring (participle present)
avering (obsolete participle present)
averred (participle past)
averred (past)
avered (obsolete participle past)
avered (obsolete past)
aver (infinitive)

From Middle English averren, from Old French averer, from Early Medieval Latin advērō, a verb derived from Latin vērus (“true”). Compare Modern French avérer.

(transitive, intransitive, law) To justify or prove (an allegation or plea that one has made).

доказвам

to prove or justify (an allegation or plea that one has made)


award

From Middle English awarden, from Anglo-Norman awarder, from Medieval Latin *exwardare, from Latin ex (“out”) + Medieval Latin wardare, guardare (“to observe, regard, guard”); see ward, guard, regard.

Citing the damages that Ms. Lewis and Mr. Heslin had requested, Mr. Jones called the award a “major victory” in a video posted on Infowars on Thursday night, even as he urged viewers to buy products from his website to stave off what he portrayed as financial ruin.

2022 August 4, Elizabeth Williamson, “Jurors Award Sandy Hook Parents $4 Million in Damages”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(law) A judgment, sentence, or final decision. Specifically: The decision of arbitrators in a case submitted.

(law) The paper containing the decision of arbitrators; that which is warded.


award

award (third-person singular simple present awards, present participle awarding, simple past and past participle awarded)

awards (present singular third-person)
awarding (participle present)
awarded (participle past)
awarded (past)

The arbitrators awarded damages to the complainant.

To review / The wrongful sentence, and award a new.

1697, Virgil, translated by John Dryden, The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

Power to award compensation

2012, Legislative Council of Hong Kong, “Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Ordinance (Cap. 617), section 7, section header”, in Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Gazette, page A1381:

A Texas jury on Thursday awarded the parents of a child killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School more than $4 million in compensatory damages from the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, […]

(transitive, law) To give by sentence or judicial determination; to assign or apportion, after careful regard to the nature of the case.


sac

But it is really the court-baron which represents the ancient assembly of the mark, while the court-leet represents the lord's jurisdiction of sac and soc, whether granted before or since the coming of William.

1876, Edward Augustus Freeman, The History of the Norman Conquest of England, page 311:

In later times, if the lord had "sac and soc,” his court had the authority of the Court Leet; if he had the view of frankpledge the suitors at his court were free from attendance at the sheriff's tourn; his court was then in all points like the hundred court, but independent of the sheriff.

1882, William White, History, gazetteer, and directory, of Lincolnshire, page 21:

The grant of “sac and soc” did not always carry with it the right to hold a court, but frequently amounted only to the privilege of receiving the forfeitures the lord's men should incur in the Hundred court, or possibly to one-third of the revenues of the Hundred and Shire, which had formerly gone to the ealdorman.

1899 February, F. M. Cobb, “Early English Courts”, in The Western Reserve Law Journal, volume 5, number 1, page 16:

(UK, law, historical) The privilege, formerly enjoyed by the lord of a manor, of holding courts, trying causes, and imposing fines; now used only in the phrase sac and soc or soc and sac.


infamy

en-noun

infamy (countable and uncountable, plural infamies)

From late Middle English infamie, from Old French infamie, from Latin īnfāmia (“infamy”), from īnfāmis (“infamous”), from in- (“not”) + fāma (“fame, renown”). Displaced native Old English unhlīsa (literally “bad fame”).

ncog

(law) A stigma attaching to a person's character that disqualifies them from being a witness.


pais

From Old French, equivalent to French pays (“country”).

(obsolete, law, in set phrases as mentioned below) The country (ie: the jury); also, the people living in the district from where the jury is taken.


F.

(law) Federal, in some legal citation formats.


equity

en-noun

equity (countable and uncountable, plural equities)

From Middle English equitee, equytee, from Old French equité, from Latin aequitās (“uniformity; impartiality; fairness”).

bonds

(in various financial and economic subsenses): debt; as stock in a company

1800, Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon in Mayor, &c. of Southampton v. Graves (1800), 8 T. R. 592.
A Court of equity knows its own province.

A Court of equity interposes only according to conscience.

1851, Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards in Birch v. Joy (1851), 3 H. L. C. 598

Equity had been gradually shaping itself into a refined science which no human faculties could master without long and intense application.

1848-55, Thomas Babington Macaulay, History of England, Chapter IX

(law) Various related senses originating with the Court of Chancery in late Medieval England

(law) The power of a court of law having extra-statutory discretion, to decide legal matters and to provide legal relief apart from, though not in violation of, the prevailing legal code; in some cases, a court "sitting in equity" may provide relief to a complainant should the code be found either inapplicable or insufficient to do so.

...the mortgagor retains ‘equitable title’ or the ‘equity of redemption’….The equity of redemption permits the mortgagor to regain legal title to the mortgaged property upon satisfying the conditions of the mortgage...

1999, In Re Fitzgerald, 237 B.R. 252, 261 (Bkrtcy. D.Conn. 1999)

The wife's equity does not, according to the adjudged cases, attach, except upon that part of her personal property in action which the husband cannot acquire without the assistance of a court of equity

1826, James Kent, Commentaries on American Law:

(law) A right which accrues to a party in a transaction because of the nature of the transaction itself, and which is exercisable upon a change of circumstances or conditions; in other words, an equitable claim.

(law, England) The body of law which was developed in the English Court of Chancery, which Court had extra-statutory discretion, and is now administered alongside the common law of Britain.

I have a lot of equity in my house.

(finance) Various senses related to net value

(law, finance) Value of property minus liens or other encumbrances.

нетен капитал

the value of property minus liens or other encumbrances


intestate

From Latin intestātus, from in- (“not”) + testātus (“testate”).

the surplusages of intestates […]after the expiration of one full year from the death of the intestate is to be distributed : one - third to the widow of the intestate, and the residue in equal proportions to his children ; or if dead to their representatives : that is , their lineal descendants

1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:

(law) A person who dies without making a valid will.

無遺囑者

a person who dies without making a valid will


plenary

en-adj

plenary (comparative more plenary, superlative most plenary)

more plenary (comparative)
most plenary (superlative)

From Middle English plenarie, plenarye, from Late Latin plēnārius, from Latin plēnus (“full”).

The method of treating a subject should be plenary or full.

1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, →OCLC:

(theology or law) Complete; full; entire; absolute.


cooperate

en-verb

cooperate (third-person singular simple present cooperates, present participle cooperating, simple past and past participle cooperated)

cooperates (present singular third-person)
cooperating (participle present)
cooperated (participle past)
cooperated (past)

/kəʉˈɔp.ə.ɹæɪt/

Originated 1595–1605 from Late Latin cooperatus (“work with”). See co- + operate. Displaced native Old English efnwyrċan.

(law jargon, transitive) To obtain the cooperation of (a potential witness); to turn (someone) into a cooperating witness.


within

From Middle English withinne, withinnen, from Old English wiþinnan; equivalent to with + in.

the within appeal

As part of the within appeal the appellants brought a fresh evidence motion. Although the court did not specifically address the motion in its oral reasons dismissing the appeal, that motion was rejected by the court for the following reasons.

2013, Court of Appeal for Ontario, Malka v. Vasiliadis:

(law) In the context of which the present document or ruling is made.


waive

waive (third-person singular simple present waives, present participle waiving, simple past and past participle waived)

waives (present singular third-person)
waiving (participle present)
waived (participle past)
waived (past)

From Middle English weyven (“to avoid, renounce”), from Anglo-Norman weyver (“to abandon, allow to become a waif”), from Old French waif (“waif”), from gaiver (“to abandon”), ultimately of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin; see weyver.

der

If you waive the right to be silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.

(transitive, law) To relinquish (a right etc.); to give up claim to; to forgo.

(particularly) To relinquish claim on a payment or fee which would otherwise be due.


waive

From Anglo-Norman waive, probably as the past participle of weyver, as Etymology 1, above.

(obsolete, law) A woman put out of the protection of the law; an outlawed woman.


constitutional

en-adj

constitutional (comparative more constitutional, superlative most constitutional)

more constitutional (comparative)
most constitutional (superlative)

PIE word
 *ḱóm
From constitution + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Constitution is derived from Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”) (from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) + statuō (“to set up, station; to establish; to determine, fix”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”))) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions), -tiōnem (accusative singular of -tiō).

der

a constitutional right   constitutional reforms

Brexit has rocked the foundations of the nation and plunged everyone into a state of heightened constitutional anxiety.

Some are already speculating that a constitutional crisis is brewing.

On January 18, 1810, Republican Senator Philip Reed introduced a constitutional amendment addressing the acceptance of titles of nobility by American citizens.³¹

1999 April 18, Jol A. Silversmith, “The "Missing Thirteenth Amendment": Constitutional Nonsense and Titles of Nobility”, in Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, volume 8, number 2, USC Gould School of Law, archived from the original on 2015-02-15, page 582:

Relating to a legal or political constitution (“the basic law of a nation or institution; the formal or informal system of primary principles and laws that regulates a government or other institution”).

دُسْتُورِيّ

relating to a legal or political constitution

The Supreme Court ruled against the applicant and found the statute constitutional.

Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional: Same-sex marriage in Thailand will have to wait, as the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously today (Wednesday) that Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, defining marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, is constitutional.

2021 November 17, Thai PBS, “Thai charter court rules that only heterosexual marriages are constitutional”, in Thai PBS World, Bangkok: Thai Public Broadcasting Service, retrieved 2021-11-17:

In compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution.

دُسْتُورِيّ

in compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution

(also politics) Of a monarch: having a purely ceremonial role, or possessing powers limited by a constitution rather than plenary or unlimited powers.

konstitusjonelt monarki

of a monarch: having a purely ceremonial role, or possessing powers limited by a constitution rather than plenary or unlimited powers


functionality

en-noun

functionality (countable and uncountable, plural functionalities)

(US, law, uncountable) In trademark law, the tendency of a product design to serve a function other than the identification of the product, preventing that design from being protected as a trademark.


apostle

(law) A note sent to an appeals court presenting the appeal in summary.

(law) The trial court record sent to an appeal court concerning an appeal.


venue

From Middle English venu, from Old French venue, the feminine singular past participle of the verb venir (to come). Doublet of veny.

The twelve men who are to try the cause must be of the same venue where the demand is made.

(law) A neighborhood or near place; the place or county in which anything is alleged to have happened; also, the place where an action is laid, or the district from which a jury comes.

escena f del crim

legal: place in which anything is alleged to have happened


testament

From Middle English testament, from Old French testament, from Latin testāmentum (“the publication of a will, a will, testament, in Late Latin one of the divisions of the Bible”), from testor (“I am a witness, testify, attest, make a will”), from testis (“one who attests, a witness”).

der

(law) A solemn, authentic instrument in writing, by which a person declares his or her will as to disposal of his or her inheritance (estate and effects) after his or her death, benefiting specified heir(s).


messenger

From Middle English messengere, messingere, messangere, from Old French messanger, a variant of Old French messagier (French messager), equivalent to message + -er. Doublet of messager.
Displaced native Old English boda (“messenger, envoy”) and ǣrendraca (“messenger, ambassador”).
For the replacement of -ager with -enger, -inger, -anger, compare passenger, harbinger, scavenger, porringer. This development may have been merely the addition of n, or it may have resulted due to contamination from other suffixes such as Middle English -ing and the rare Old French -ange, -enc, -inge, -inghe (“-ing”) for Old French -age (“-age”).

The Messenger under the joint Commission of Bankruptcy might have seized the Whole, if they had remained in their Warehouse

(Can we date this quote?), James Burrow, Reports of Cases Adjudged in the Court of King's Bench:

(law) A person appointed to perform certain ministerial duties under bankrupt and insolvent laws, such as to take charge of the estate of the bankrupt or insolvent.


dock

Originally criminal slang; from or akin to obsolete Dutch (West Flemish) dok (“cage, hutch”) or docke (“cage”), from Middle Dutch docke (“coop for animals”), from Proto-Germanic *dukją, *dugją (“enclosed or contained space”) (compare Old High German dogga (“barrel”), Middle Low German docke (“small house”), of uncertain origin, possibly borrowed from a non-Indo-European substrate.

(law) Part of a courtroom where the accused sits.

ла́ва падсу́дных

part of a courtroom where the accused sits


favor

en-noun

favor (countable and uncountable, plural favors)

favors (plural)
in Canada (US alternative)

From Middle English favour, favor, faver, from Anglo-Norman favour, from mainland Old French favor, from Latin favor (“good will; kindness; partiality”), from faveō (“to be kind to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂weh₁yeti (“to be favourable to”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine, glow light”). Respelled in American English to more closely match its Latin etymon. Compare also Danish favør (“favor”), Irish fabhar (“favor”), from the same Romance source.


conspiracy

en-noun

conspiracy (countable and uncountable, plural conspiracies)

From Middle English conspiracie, from Anglo-Norman conspiracie, from Latin cōnspīrātiō. Doublet of conspiration.

(law) An agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future.


fine

From Middle English finen, fynen, from Old French finer, finir. See finish (transitive verb).

(UK, law) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.


seat

From Middle English sete, from Old English sǣte, possibly from (or simply cognate with) Old Norse sæti (“seat”), both from Proto-Germanic *sētiją (“seat”), from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”); compare Old English set (“seat”).
Sense 2 (“location or site”) is probably derived from Old English sǣte (“house”), which is related to Old High German sāza (“sedan, seat, domicile”).
cognates
* Middle Dutch gesaete
* Old High German gisazi (modern German Gesäß)

cog

would you mind putting on your seat belt

(law, England and Wales) One of a series of departmental placements given to a trainee solicitor as part of their training contract.


et seq.

Borrowing of Latin et seq., an abbreviation variously of et (“and”) sequens (“the following item”), sequente (“in what follows”), sequentes and sequentia (“the following items”), or sequentibus (“in the following items”).

See p. 87 et seq.

Covered in Code Section 123 et seq.

(law, used in page references) And what follows, and following, and in the following [pages, sections, &c.].

with a following blank space representing the indeterminate end


resident

From Middle English resident, from Anglo-Norman resident, from Latin residēns, present participle of resideō (“to remain behind, reside, dwell”), equivalent to reside + -ent, from re- (“back”) + sedeō (“I sit”). Doublet of resiant and rezident. The espionage sense is a semantic loan from Russian резиде́нт (rezidént).

semantic loan

(law) A legal permanent resident, someone who maintains residency.


frame

en-verb

frame (third-person singular simple present frames, present participle framing, simple past and past participle framed)

frames (present singular third-person)
framing (participle present)
framed (participle past)
framed (past)

→ Dutch: frame

→ German: framen

From Middle English framen, fremen, fremmen (“to construct, build, strengthen, refresh, perform, execute, profit, avail”), from Old English framian, fremian, fremman (“to profit, avail, advance”), from Proto-West Germanic *frammjan, from Proto-Germanic *framjaną (“to further, promote, perform”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“front, forward”).
Cognate with Low German framen (“to commit, effect”), Danish fremme (“to promote, further, perform”), Swedish främja (“to promote, encourage, foster”), Icelandic fremja (“to commit”). More at from.

cog

The gun had obviously been placed in her car in an effort to frame her.

(transitive, criminology) Conspire to falsely incriminate an innocent person.


disco

You don't need to worry about these details at the complaint stage, we can get them in disco.

(US, law, informal) discovery (pre-trial phase in which evidence is gathered)

Has the disco come in from the defendants yet? We sent them requests almost six weeks ago.

(US, law, informal) discovery (materials revealed to the opposing party during the pre-trial phase in which evidence is gathered)


nugatory

en-adj

nugatory (comparative more nugatory, superlative most nugatory)

more nugatory (comparative)
most nugatory (superlative)

But these regulations would have been impotent and nugatory, had not the licentious nobles been awed by the sword of the civil power.

1788, Edward Gibbon, chapter LXX, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume VI, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC:

The word "necessary" is considered as controlling the whole sentence, and as limiting the right to pass laws for the execution of the granted powers to such as are indispensable, and without which the power would be nugatory.

1819, Chief Justice John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland (17 U.S. 316)

He protested against the Fugitive Slave Law as necessarily nugatory and utterly impossible of execution because unanimously condemned by the public sentiment of the North.

1905, William Gardner, chapter IV, in The Life of Stephen A. Douglas:

(law) Having no force, inoperative, ineffectual.


gist

en-noun

gist (countable and uncountable, plural gists)

The noun is derived from Old French gist, a noun use of the third person singular indicative of gesir (“to lie down”) (modern French gésir; compare Anglo-Norman (cest) action gist (literally “(law) (this) action lies”)), from Latin iacēre, the present active infinitive of iaceō (“to lie down, lie prostrate, recline”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- (“to throw”) (probably in the sense of something being thrown down).
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

[T]heſe charges, of a traiterous or felonious intent, are the points and very giſt of the indictment, and muſt be anſvvered directly, by the general negative, not guilty; […]

1769, William Blackstone, “Of Plea, and Issue”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 333:

[H]e is guilty of a dereliction of opinions that are true and laudable. This is the great giſt of the charge againſt him.

1791 August 3, [Edmund Burke], An Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs, […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 30:

But it is observable that the substance or gist of the action is not always the principal cause of the plaintiff's complaint in point of fact, nor that on which he recovers all or the greatest part of his damages. It frequently happens that upon that part of his declaration which contains the substance or gist of the action he recovers nominal damages, and he gets his principal satisfaction on account of matters altogether collateral thereto.

1839, John Bouvier, “GIST”, in A Law Dictionary, […], volumes I (A–K), Philadelphia, Pa.: T. & J. W. Johnson, […], successors to Nicklin & Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 445, column 1:

Naturally, therefore, conceiving that the gite of the lawyer's reasoning was to defend the want of resemblance as an admitted fact, which it would be useless to deny, the worthy magistrate closed the pleadings, and gave sentence against Mr Whelp, the plaintiff.

[1859, F. Laun [pseudonym], “The King of Hayti. From the German. Chapter III. ‘In the Second Place’—Dinner is on the Table.”, in Thomas De Quincey, transl., Speculations Literary and Philosophic: With German Tales and Other Narrative Papers (De Quincey’s Works; XII), London: James Hogg & Sons, →OCLC, page 41:

(countable, law, dated) The essential ground for action in a lawsuit, without which there is no cause of action; the gravamen.


consuetudinary

From Medieval Latin cōnsuetudinārius, from Latin cōnsuetudō. By surface analysis, consuetude + -in- + -ary.

surf

(law) Customary; considered law by virtue of the fact that it is generally observed.

Consuetudinary in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)


acknowledgment

en-noun

acknowledgment (countable and uncountable, plural acknowledgments)

acknowledgement

most common British spelling, also sometimes used in the US

(law) The act of a person admitting a child as their own.

припозна́ване

act of a man admitting a child as his own

(law) A formal statement or document recognizing the fulfillment or execution of a legal requirement or procedure.

потвържде́ние

formal statement or document recognizing the fulfilment or execution of a legal requirement or procedure


garnish

en-verb

garnish (third-person singular simple present garnishes, present participle garnishing, simple past and past participle garnished)

garnishes (present singular third-person)
garnishing (participle present)
garnished (participle past)
garnished (past)

From Middle English garnysshen, from Old French garniss-, stem of certain forms of the verb garnir, guarnir, warnir (“to provide, furnish, avert, defend, warn, fortify, garnish”), from a conflation of Old Frankish *warnijan (“to refuse, deny”) and *warnōn (“warn, protect, prepare, beware, guard oneself”), from Proto-Germanic *warnijaną (“to worry, care, heed”) and Proto-Germanic *warnōną (“to warn”); both from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to defend, protect, cover”). Cognate with Old English wiernan (“to withhold, be sparing of, deny, refuse, reject, decline, forbid, prevent from, avert”) and warnian (“to warn, caution, take warning, take heed, guard oneself against, deny”). More at warn.

cog

(law) To warn by garnishment; to give notice to.

When the editorial board of Fire met again, we did not plan a new issue, but emptied our pockets to help poor Thurman whose wages were being garnished weekly because he had signed for the printer’s bills.

1966, Langston Hughes, “The Twenties: Harlem and Its Negritude”, in Christopher C. De Santis, editor, The Collected Works of Langston Hughes, volume 9, page 473:

(law) To have (money) set aside by court order (particularly for the payment of alleged debts); to garnishee.


society

en-noun

society (countable and uncountable, plural societies)

1530s; borrowed from Middle French societé, from Old French societé, from Latin societās, societātem (“fellowship, association, alliance, union, community”), from socius (“associated, allied; partner, companion, ally”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-yo- (“companion”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”).

der

(countable, law) A number of people joined by mutual consent to deliberate, determine and act toward a common goal.


preterition

en-noun

preterition (countable and uncountable, plural preteritions)

Borrowed from Latin praeteritiō, from praetereō (“I omit”).

(law) The failure of a testator to name a legal heir in their will.


rest

en-verb

rest (third-person singular simple present rests, present participle resting, simple past and past participle rested)

rests (present singular third-person)
resting (participle present)
rested (participle past)
rested (past)

From Middle English resten, from Old English restan, from Proto-West Germanic *rastijan (“to rest”), from Proto-Indo-European *ros-, *res-, *erH- (“rest”). Cognate with Dutch rusten (“to rest”), Middle Low German resten (“to rest”), German rasten (“to rest”), Danish raste (“to rest”), Swedish rasta (“to rest”).

relax

lie down and take repose, especially by sleeping

The defense rests, your Honor.

I rest my case.

(intransitive, transitive, law, US) To complete one's active advocacy in a trial or other proceeding, and thus to wait for the outcome (however, one is still generally available to answer questions, etc.)


v.

Brown v. Board of Education


hearing

en-noun

hearing (countable and uncountable, plural hearings)

Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time. The hearing will be unprecedented in its remit, but at its core will be a simple issue: should Reggie Clemons live or die?

2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:

(countable, law) A legal procedure done before a judge, without a jury, as with an evidentiary hearing.


delegation

delegation (countable and uncountable, plural delegations)

/dɛlɪˈɡeɪʃən/

Borrowed from Latin dēlēgātiō, dēlēgātiōnis, from dēlēgō: compare French délégation.

The mere delegation of a performance imposes no duty on the delegate to perform. If the delegate performs the duty, the duty is discharged. If the delegate does not perform the duty, the duty is not discharged, but any claim of the obligee for breach is against the delegating party and not against the delegate.

2016, Marco J. Jimenez, Contract Law: A Case and Problem Based Approach (Aspen Casebook Series), New York: Wolters Kluwer, →ISBN, page 1192:

(law) The act whereby or constellation in which the performance of an obligation (owed to an obligee, presuming its validity; irrespective of the obligation as the target of the delegation, rarely called delegatary) is assigned by its debtor (delegator, obligor) to and towards another party (delegatee, delegate)

valtuutus

(law) the substitution of the person who performs


mortmain

mortmain (usually uncountable, plural mortmains)

From Anglo-Norman mortmayn, morte meyn, from Old French mortes meins, after Late Latin phrase mortua manus. See Latin mortuus (“dead”) + manus (“hand”).

1824, Charter of Incorporation of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,
[W]e do hereby grant our especial license and authority unto all and every person […] to grant sell alien and convey in mortmain unto and to the use of the said Society and their successors […]

Though in truth it was the law of mortmain […] which originally sent the founders of chantries to seek the king's licence […]

1900, Frederic William Maitland, “The Corporation Sole”, in Law Quarterly Review, volume 16:

(law) The perpetual, inalienable possession of lands by a corporation or non-personal entity such as a church.


deed

From Middle English dede, from Old English dēd, dǣd (“deed, act”), from Proto-West Germanic *dādi, from Proto-Germanic *dēdiz (“deed”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁tis (“deed, action”). Analyzable through Proto-Germanic as do + -th. Doublet of thesis.
The real estate sense derives from the fact that property deeds are traditionally used to demonstrate proof of ownership of a legal title in common law jurisdictions, such as England & Wales and most of the United States.
Cognates:
Cognate with West Frisian died, Dutch daad (“deed, act”), German Low German Daad, German Tat (“deed, action”), Swedish, Norwegian and Danish dåd (“act, action”). The Proto-Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek θέσις (thésis, “setting, arrangement”).

cog

(law) A legal instrument that is executed under seal or before a witness; sometimes required for certain legal activities, such as the transfer of certain kinds of property.

I inherited the deed to the house.

(by extension, real estate) The legal title to real estate; ownership.


haver

From Middle English haver, havere, equivalent to have + -er.

(law, Scotland) The person who has custody of a document.


industry

en-noun

industry (countable and uncountable, plural industries)

From Middle English industry, industrie, from Old French industrie, from Latin industria (“diligence, activity, industry”), from industrius (“diligent, active, zealous”), from Old Latin indostruus (“diligent, active”); origin unknown. Perhaps from indu (“in”) + ūst-, ūstr-, stem of ūrō (“burn, burn up, consume”, verb), related to Old High German ūstrī (“industry”), Old English andūstrian (“to hate, detest”, literally “to be consumed with zeal”).

cog

It is a classical and restricted view both of industry (it excludes service sectors, now 70% of the GDP of developed economies)[…]

2007, Dominique Guellec with Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, The economics of the European patent system, page 122:

(Europe software patent law) Automated production of material goods.


assent

en-noun

assent (countable and uncountable, plural assents)

From Middle English assent (noun) and assenten (verb), from Old French assent (noun) and assentir (verb), from Latin assentiō.

(countable, property law) A legal instrument that conveys real estate to an heir under the terms of a will.


genizah

genizah (plural genizahs or genizot or genizoth)

genizahs (plural)
genizot (plural)
genizoth (plural)

From Hebrew גְּנִיזָה (g'nizá, “archiving, preservation, storage; hiding; genizah”) (plural גְּנִיזוֹת (g'nizót)), from Old Persian *ganzam, from Old Median *ganǰam (“depository; treasure”).

der

The Cairo Genizah was discovered in 1896.

In the year 1870 the Russian Minister of Public Worship purchased from the well-known Karaite traveller and archaeologist Abraham Firkowitsch his collection of Samaritan MSS. for the Imperial Library of St. Petersburg. It consists almost exclusively of fragments, this circumstance arising from the fact that the collector during his stay in Nablus and Egypt completely ransacked the Samaritan Genizoth (that is to say, the garrets and cellars of the synagogues whither their worn-out books were conveyed), thus acquiring several fragments of Samaritan Pentateuch rolls— […]

1874, John W. Nutt, “Appendix I. The Collection of Samaritan MSS. at St. Petersburg.”, in A Sketch of Samaritan History, Dogma, and Literature, Published as an Introduction to “Fragments of a Samaritan Targum, Edited from a Bodleian MS.”, London: Trübner and Co., →OCLC, page 153:

Unfortunately, too, the fragment begins in the very middle of a sentence, as do most of these Genizah fragments. It is evident that the leaves come from a large volume, as each drug was numbered.

1935 January 15, R[ichard James Horatio] Gottheil, “A Fragment on Pharmacy from the Cairo Genizah”, in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: With which are Incorporated the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, part I, London: Published by the Society, 74 Grosvenor Street, London, W. 1, →OCLC, page 124:

The rule of burying the old Scrolls which became spoiled or torn was in course of time extended to all Hebrew books which became torn or spoiled. This, indirectly, probably led to the well-known practice of having special places called Geniza, where such books were temporarily kept before being buried[…]. In almost all Jewish centers, there are Genizot in the synagogues—under the Bima, within the walls, or in the garrets. As the place grew overcrowded, the content was carried to the cemetery for burial.

1983, Jacob Z[allel] Lauterbach, “73. Ritual for Disposal of Damaged Sefer Torah (Vol. XXXIV, 9124, pp. 74–75)”, in Walter Jacob, editor, American Reform Responsa: Collected Responsa of the Central Conference of American Rabbis 1889–1983, New York, N.Y.: Central Conference of American Rabbis, →OCLC, page 243:

[A]ccording to Jewish law and practice, ritual objects which contained the name of God could not be thrown away or destroyed. The tradition was to treat these objects with great reverence. A place called a Genizah (from Persian, "ganoz," which means "treasury" or "hidden place") was created to house these ritual objects. […] A genizah, therefore, was a place of concealment. Sometimes this was a hidden cave; other times it was space between the stories of a building or a separate cupboard or small room with a small opening into which could be placed the remnants of books and manuscripts which contained the name of God. […] Often things placed in the genizah were destroyed over the years from mildew and erosion, but in certain climates they were preserved. Such was the case with a great genizah in old Cairo that was discovered by Professor Solomon Schechter. Schechter's discovery opened to modern Jewish scholarship thousands of pages of ancient manuscripts and original works that had been lost or not known to modern scholars.

2002, Stephen M. Brown, “Beginning Talmud Torah”, in Stephen Garfinkel, Karen L. Stein, editors, Reclaiming Our Legacy: The More Torah, the More Life, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: Department of Youth Activities, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, →OCLC, pages 110–111:

Originally Jewish law required only the words of Scripture to be stashed in genizahs, but over time the understanding of which texts were sacred often became far broader. Soon Jews were depositing rabbinic writings as well as scriptural ones into their genizahs. Later, they included any document even mentioning God and sometimes documents bearing any Hebrew at all. In fact, by the tenth century—particularly in the highly literate lands of the Middle East and North Africa—many Jews seem to have considered any document of any kind worthy of preservation in their genizah repositories.

2016, Mark Glickman, “Loading the Jewish Bookshelf”, in Stolen Words: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book, →ISBN, page 33:

(Jewish law) A depository where sacred Hebrew books or other sacred items that by Jewish law cannot be disposed of are kept before they can be properly buried in a cemetery.

جنيزا

depository where sacred Hebrew books, etc., are kept before being buried in a cemetery


sui generis

/sʊɪ d͡ʒəˈnɛɹɪs/

Borrowed from Latin suī generis (literally “of its own kind/class”).

bor

It is easy to describe second-rate talents, because they fall into a class and enlist under a standard; but first-rate powers defy calculation or comparison, and can be defined only by themselves. They are sui generis, and make the class to which they belong.

1821–1822, William Hazlitt, “Character of Cobbett”, in Table-Talk; or, Original Essays, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Warren; Henry Colburn and Co.:

The transcendent case before us is absolutely sui generis.

1828, John Pye Smith, Four Discourses on the Sacrifice and Priesthood of Jesus Christ: and on Atonement and Redemption, page 67:

The eminent Italian geologist, Stoppani, goes further than I had ventured to do, and treats the action of man as a new physical element altogether sui generis.

1874, George P. Marsh, The Earth as Modified by Human Action:

The system was neither free enterprise nor socialism; it was sui generis, one of the unique creations of the Middle Ages.

1994, Frances and Joseph Gies, “The Technology of the Commercial Revolution”, in Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel, →ISBN, page 111:

We see him as he sees himself, surveying the invisible depths of ethical space, with all the distinction of a specialist in the sui generis.

1995, J.L. Austin, How To Do Things With Words:

Based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s remarkable, sui generis semi-autobiographical graphic novel, […]

2015 August 6, Leslie Felperin, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl review – a scaldingly honest coming-of-age comedy”, in The Guardian:

The basic operational mechanisms and business practices were so new and strange, so utterly sui generis, that all we could see was a gaggle of “innovative” horseless carriages.

2018, Shoshana Zuboff, chapter 11, in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism:

Hitchens was sui generis. He made most other book reviewers, to borrow Dorothy Parker’s words about the drama critic George Jean Nathan, “look as if they spelled out their reviews with alphabet blocks.”

2024 January 1, Dwight Garner, “Want to Feel, Intellectually, Like Someone Is Rotating Your Tires?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(chiefly law) In a class of its own; one of a kind.


sui generis

/sʊɪ d͡ʒəˈnɛɹɪs/

It is word-generated knowledge or knowledge by testimony ( K. T. for short ) – a sui generis.

2013 June 29, Bimal K. Matilal, A. Chakrabarti, Knowing from Words: Western and Indian Philosophical Analysis of Understanding and Testimony, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 100:

Prior to the 1990s a large segment of New Testament scholarship maintained that the Gospels represent a sui generis, that is, a genre unique to them. This sui generis was viewed as a type of mythology.

2020 May 21, Michael R Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach, Inter-Varsity Press, →ISBN:

Insofar as none of these approaches has ever been formally overruled by the highest Court of the land, the law of deviation remains an area of controversy and is practically treated as a sui generis - that is, as a law quite distinct from the general law of contract.

2021 October 5, Sze Ping-fat, Carrier's Liability under the Hague, Hague-Visby and Hamburg Rules, BRILL, →ISBN, page 124:

(chiefly law) Something of its own kind; a thing apart.


consideration

en-noun

consideration (countable and uncountable, plural considerations)

/kənˌsɪdəˈɹeɪʃən/

From Middle English consideracioun, from Old French consideracion, from Latin cōnsīderātiō. By surface analysis, consider + -ation.

Consideration is an intention to create legal relations.

In consideration of the performance of B's obligations hereunder, A hereby grants to B's personal license.

(law) A matter of inducement for something promised; something valuable given as recompense for a promise, which causes the promise to become binding as a contract.

對價

legal: something valuable given as recompense for a promise


suggestion

suggestion (countable and uncountable, plural suggestions)

/səˈd͡ʒɛstʃən/

[səˈd͡ʒɛʃtʃən]

/sə(ɡ)ˈd͡ʒɛst͡ʃən/

From Middle English suggestion, from Anglo-Norman suggestioun, sugestiun, from Latin suggestiō, from suggerō (“suggest”, verb), from Latin sub- (“from below, up”) + gerō (“to bring”). Related to English up-, cast.

(law, countable) Information, insinuation, speculation, as opposed to a sworn testimony and evidence.


omit

en-verb

omit (third-person singular simple present omits, present participle omitting, simple past and past participle omitted)

omits (present singular third-person)
omitting (participle present)
omitted (participle past)
omitted (past)

At least by 1422, from late Middle English omitten, borrowed from Latin omittō (“to let go”), from ob- + mittō (“to send”), but also had the connotations “to fail to perform” and “to neglect”.

In the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, omit sections 146(4) and 147(3) (homosexual acts as grounds for dismissal from the crew of merchant ships).

2017, Parliament of the United Kingdom, Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017, section 1:

(transitive, law, of text) To delete or remove; to strike.


vest

vest (third-person singular simple present vests, present participle vesting, simple past and past participle vested)

vests (present singular third-person)
vesting (participle present)
vested (participle past)
vested (past)

From French veste (“a vest, jacket”), from Latin vestis (“a garment, gown, robe, vestment, clothing, vesture”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis, from *wes- (“to be dressed”) (English wear). Cognate with Sanskrit वस्त्र (vastra) and Spanish vestir.

der

to vest a person with an estate

an estate is vested in possession

For the right of the crown vests[…]upon his heir.

1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:

(law) To clothe with possession; also, to give a person an immediate fixed right of present or future enjoyment of.

Upon the death of the Sovereign the Crown automatically vests in the next heir without the need of coronation or other formality.

(law, intransitive) (of an inheritance or a trust fund) To devolve upon the person currently entitled when a prior interest has ended.


inchoate

en-adj

inchoate (comparative more inchoate, superlative most inchoate)

more inchoate (comparative)
most inchoate (superlative)

From Latin incohātus (“begun, unfinished”), perfect passive participle of incohō (“begin”). Cognate with Spanish incoar (“to initiate, commence, begin”).

cog

Congress considers the inchoate offenses of attempt and conspiracy, even conspiracy without an overt act, to be just as serious as the federal substantive drug offenses which they contemplate.

2006, United States v. McKenney, 450 F.3d 39 (1st Cir. 2006)

(law) Of a crime, imposing criminal liability for an incompleted act.


charge

en-noun

charge (countable and uncountable, plural charges)

From Middle English chargen, from Old French chargier, from Late Latin carricō (“to load”), from Latin carrus (“a car, wagon”); see car. Doublet of cargo.


charge

en-verb

charge (third-person singular simple present charges, present participle charging, simple past and past participle charged)

charges (present singular third-person)
charging (participle present)
charged (participle past)
charged (past)

desc

→ Cantonese: 叉廚／叉厨 (caa¹ cyu⁴), 叉 (caa¹)

→ Kashubian: czardżowac (United States)

→ Malay: caj, cas

→ Swahili: chaji

yükləmək

to place a burden upon, to assign a duty

yükləmək

to load equipment with material required for its use

(transitive, property law) To mortgage (a property).


transfer

en-verb

transfer (third-person singular simple present transfers, present participle transferring, simple past and past participle transferred)

transfers (present singular third-person)
transferring (participle present)
transferred (participle past)
transferred (past)

/tɹɑːnsˈfɜː/

The title to land is transferred by deed.

(transitive, law) To arrange for something to belong to or be officially controlled by somebody else.

прехвърлям

arrange for something to belong to or be controlled by somebody else


arrogation

en-noun

arrogation (countable and uncountable, plural arrogations)

The President's arrogation of this new Act oversteps his bounds and causes our rights to suffer.

It condescended and/or pandered to so many for so long that even its old suburbanite subscribers must have begrudged it deep down, and those New Yorkers who know it love to hate it outright – for the arrogation of its New York as the New York, among other crimes: who are those people in the cartoons anyway?

2000 September 21, Hal Foster, “Slumming with Rappers at the Roxy”, in London Review of Books, volume 22, number 18, →ISSN:

(law) The unjust assumption of rights or privilege.

Anmaßung

the unjust assumption of rights or privilege


toll

From Middle English toll, tol, tolle, from Old English toll m or n and toln f (“toll, duty, custom”), from Proto-West Germanic *toll, *tolnu, from Proto-Germanic *tullaz, *tullō (“that which is counted or told, reckoning”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tol (“toll”), Dutch tol (“toll”), German Zoll (“toll, duty, customs”), Danish told (“toll, duty, tariff”), Swedish tull (“toll, customs”), Icelandic tollur (“toll, customs”). More at tell, tale.
Alternate etymology derives Old English toll, from Medieval Latin tolōneum, tolōnium, alteration (due to the Germanic forms above) of Latin telōneum, from Ancient Greek τελώνιον (telṓnion, “toll-house”), from τέλος (télos, “tax”).

der

(UK, law, obsolete) A liberty to buy and sell within the bounds of a manor.


toll

en-verb

toll (third-person singular simple present tolls, present participle tolling, simple past and past participle tolled)

tolls (present singular third-person)
tolling (participle present)
tolled (participle past)
tolled (past)

(law, obsolete) To take away; to vacate; to annul.

The statute of limitations defense was tolled as a result of the defendant’s wrongful conduct.


blackout

en-noun

blackout (countable and uncountable, plural blackouts)

→ French: blackout

→ German: Blackout

→ Portuguese: blecaute

(slang, criminology, rare) A mass murder committed, usually in an urban area, to eliminate potential witnesses of a previous crime.


lesion

From Middle English lesioun, from Old French lesion, from Latin laesiō (“injury”), itself from laesus, perfect passive participle of laedō (“I injure, hurt”).

(law) Injury or an unfair imbalance in a commutative contract wherein the consideration is less than half of the market value, which then serves as a basis for the injured party to sue to rescind the agreement.


enact

en-verb

enact (third-person singular simple present enacts, present participle enacting, simple past and past participle enacted)

enacts (present singular third-person)
enacting (participle present)
enacted (participle past)
enacted (past)

From Middle English enacten, from en-, from Old French en- (“to cause to be”), from Latin in- (“in”) and Old French acte (“perform, do”), from Latin actum, past participle of ago (“set in motion”).

The practical effect of the Government's new anti-strike bill on the rail disputes in Great Britain is awaited, after the legislation was enacted.

2023 December 27, Mel Holley, “Network News: Minimum Service Levels legislation comes into force”, in RAIL, number 999, page 14:

(transitive, law) To make (a bill) into law.


record

record (third-person singular simple present records, present participle recording, simple past and past participle recorded)

records (present singular third-person)
recording (participle present)
recorded (participle past)
recorded (past)

erase

antonym(s) of “make a record of information”

erase

antonym(s) of “make an audio or video recording of”

From Middle English recorden (“to repeat, to report”), borrowed from Old French recorder (“to get by heart”), from Latin recordārī, present active infinitive of recordor (“remember, call to mind”), from re- (“back, again”) + cor (“heart; mind”).

inh

When the deed was recorded, we officially owned the house.

(transitive, law) To give legal status to by making an official public record.


subrogate

en-verb

subrogate (third-person singular simple present subrogates, present participle subrogating, simple past and past participle subrogated)

subrogates (present singular third-person)
subrogating (participle present)
subrogated (participle past)
subrogated (past)

/ˈsʌbɹəɡeɪt/

Borrowed from Latin subrogātus, perfect passive participle of subrogō, from sub (“under”) + rogō (“I ask, request”). A variant of surrogate.

In the course of that work air‑conditioning units were installed. Those units are equipped with compressors which were manufactured by Refcomp, whose registered office is in Italy, purchased from that company and fitted by Climaventa whose registered office is also in Italy, then sold to Doumer by the company Liebert to whose rights Emerson is now subrogated. […] Subrogated to the rights of Doumer, to which it paid compensation, Axa Corporate sued the manufacturer Recomp, the fitter Climaveneta and the seller Emerson before the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris (Regional Court, Paris) seeking an order that they pay in solidum compensation for the damage suffered.

2013 February 7, European Court of Justice, Refcomp SpA vs. Axa Corporate Solutions Assurance SA / Axa France IARD / Emerson Network / Climaveneta SpA,, Case C‑543/10, marginals 8 and 10:

A co-debtor that pays off a principal creditor has a choice. It can subrogate to the principal creditor's claim or it can file its own claim in the bankruptcy. It cannot do both; its own claim will be disallowed if it seeks subrogation.

2019, Ginsberg, Martin, Kelley, Ginsberg and Martin on Bankruptcy, Aspen Publishers Online, →ISBN, page 86:

(law, transitive) To replace one person or thing with another.

das Recht geht über

this is formulated differently from the side of the subjective right


representative

From Middle English (implied in representatyfliche), from Old French representatif. By surface analysis, represent + -ative; See representation.

This pathetic remonstrance had the desired effect upon his representative, who spared no pains to fulfill the request of the deceased […].

1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:


material

en-adj

material (comparative more material, superlative most material)

more material (comparative)
most material (superlative)

From Middle English material, from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”). Displaced native Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”) (from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”)). Doublet of materiel.

ncog

You've made several material contributions to this project.

This is the most material fact in this lawsuit.

discourse, which was always material, not trifling

1685 March 20 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 10 March 1685]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:

I shall, in the account of simple ideas, set down only such as are most material to our present purpose.

1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book I, page 3:


defend

en-verb

defend (third-person singular simple present defends, present participle defending, simple past and past participle defended)

defends (present singular third-person)
defending (participle present)
defended (participle past)
defended (past)

From Middle English defenden, from Old French defendre, deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin dēfendō (“to ward off”), from Proto-Italic *fendō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen-. Displaced native Old English bewerian.

Philip Miles, defending, said: "This was a single instance, there was no allegation of continuing behaviour over a long period of time."

2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Guardian:

(transitive, law) To make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).


client

→ Japanese: クライアント (kuraianto)

From Middle English client, from Anglo-Norman clyent, Old French client, from Latin cliēns, akin to clinare (“to lean”).

(law) A person who employs or retains an attorney to represent him or her in any legal matter, or one who merely divulges confidential matters to an attorney while pursuing professional assistance without subsequently retaining the attorney.


codicil

Borrowed from Middle French codicille, from Latin cōdicillus, diminutive of cōdex. See code.

(law) An addition or supplement that explains, modifies, or revokes a will or part of one.


surrogate

→ Dutch: surrogaat

From Latin surrogātus, perfect passive participle of surrogō (“ask”); a variant of subrogō, from sub (“under”) + rogō (“ask”).

(US law) A judicial officer of limited jurisdiction, who administers matters of probate and intestate succession and, in some cases, adoptions.


property rights

(law) The exclusive rights pertaining to the ownership and possession of a given piece of property.


wreck

From Middle English wrek, from Anglo-Norman wrek, from Old Norse *wrek (Norwegian and Icelandic rek, Swedish vrak, Danish vrag), from Proto-Germanic *wrekaną, whence also Old English wrecan (English wreak), Old High German rehhan, Old Saxon wrekan, Gothic 𐍅𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (wrikan).

2. ... Wreck includes the cargo, stores and tackle of a vessel and all parts of a vessel separated from the vessel, and the property of persons who belong to, are on board or have quitted a vessel that is wrecked, stranded or in distress at any place in Canada.

1985, “Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)”, in Justice Canada, retrieved 2021-09-09:

(law, not countable) Goods, etc. cast ashore by the sea after a shipwreck.


disgorge

disgorge (third-person singular simple present disgorges, present participle disgorging, simple past and past participle disgorged)

disgorges (present singular third-person)
disgorging (participle present)
disgorged (participle past)
disgorged (past)

(law) To surrender (stolen goods or money, for example) unwillingly.


claim

→ Afrikaans: kleim

→ Dutch: claimen

→ Indonesian: klaim

From Middle English claimen, borrowed from Old French clamer (“to call, name, send for”), from Latin clāmō, clāmāre (“to call, cry out”), from Proto-Italic *klāmāō, from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to shout”), which is imitative.
See also Lithuanian kalba (“language”), Old English hlōwan (“to low, make a noise like a cow”), Old High German halan (“to call”), Ancient Greek καλέω (kaléō, “to call, convoke”), κλέδον (klédon, “report, fame”), κέλαδος (kélados, “noise”), Middle Irish cailech (“cock”), Latin calō (“to call out, announce solemnly”), Sanskrit उषःकल (uṣaḥkala, “cock”, literally “dawn-calling”). Cognate with Spanish llamar and clamar.

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

(law) A legal demand for compensation or damages.


claim

en-verb

claim (third-person singular simple present claims, present participle claiming, simple past and past participle claimed)

claims (present singular third-person)
claiming (participle present)
claimed (participle past)
claimed (past)

onomatopoeic

imitative

(law) To demand compensation or damages through the courts.


repeat

en-verb

repeat (third-person singular simple present repeats, present participle repeating, simple past and past participle repeated)

repeats (present singular third-person)
repeating (participle present)
repeated (participle past)
repeated (past)

From Middle English repeten, from Old French repeter, from Latin repetō, repetere, from the prefix re- (“again”) + peto (“attack, beseech”).

(law, Scotland) To repay or refund (an excess received).


privy

From Middle English pryvy, prive, from Old French privé (“private”), from Latin prīvātus (“deprived”), perfect passive participle of prīvō (“I bereave, deprive; I free, release”). Doublet of private.

(law) A partaker; one having an interest in an action, contract, etc. to which he is not himself a party.


excuse

en-noun

excuse (countable and uncountable, plural excuses)

From Middle English excusen (verb) and excuse (noun), borrowed from Old French escuser (verb) and excuse (noun), from Latin excūsō, excūsāre (“to excuse, allege in excuse, literally, free from a charge”), from ex (“out”) + causa (“a charge”); see cause, accuse and recuse. Displaced native Old English lād (“an excuse”) and lādian (“to excuse”).

der

(law) A defense to a criminal or civil charge wherein the accused party admits to doing acts for which legal consequences would normally be appropriate, but asserts that special circumstances relieve that party of culpability for having done those acts.


suss law

(British, law) A former (1824–1981) law by which police officers were permitted to arrest anyone under suspicion of having committed a crime


practice

en-noun

practice (usually uncountable, plural practices)

The noun is from Middle English practice, practique, practyse, from the verb; also compare Medieval Latin prāctica.
The verb is from Middle English practice, practise, practize, practyse, from Middle French pratiser, practiser, alteration of practiquer, from Medieval Latin prācticāre, from Late Latin prācticus, from Ancient Greek πρακτικός (praktikós).
The spelling practice is attested once in Middle English for both the noun and the verb. The noun began to be assimilated in spelling to nouns in -ice; practise (noun) is now obsolete.

what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive

This firm of solicitors is involved in family law practice.

(law) The form, manner, and order of conducting and carrying on suits and prosecutions through their various stages, according to the principles of law and the rules laid down by the courts.


solution

solution (countable and uncountable, plural solutions)

From Middle English solucioun, from Old French solucion (French solution), from Latin solūtiōnem, accusative singular of solūtiō, from the verb solvō. Compare solve, -tion.

he was not obliged to repeat what he had received, in solution of a just debt

1681, Scotland. Court of Session, edited by Lord Alexander Fraser Tytler Woodhouselee and William Maxwell Morison, The decisions of the Court of Session, published 1802, page 2927:

A disposition granted on a cessio bonorum is merely in farther security to the creditors, not in satisfaction or in solution of the debts.

1827, John Erskine, The Principles of the Law of Scotland, page 508:

It is said that there is no violation of the law of this State in the simple act of paying money in solution of a promise to do so

1879, “Conflict of Law — Promissory notes governed by law of place where made and payable”, in Albany Law Journal, volume 20:

(law, UK, archaic, rare) Satisfaction of a claim or debt.


inferior

en-adj

inferior (comparative more inferior, superlative most inferior)

more inferior (comparative)
most inferior (superlative)

Borrowed from Latin īnferior (“lower in situation or place”), comparative of īnferus (“below, underneath”).

bor

(law) (of a court or tribunal) Susceptible to having its decisions overturned by a higher court.