Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence

A large staff, made of the precious metals, and highly ornamented. It is an emblem of authority, and is carried before certain public functionaries by a " mace-bearer." Wharton. Ma

The term machine, in patent law, includes every mechanical device, or combination of mechanical powers and devices, to perform some function and produce a certain effect or result.

Certain regulations prescribed for the government of the Madras presidency. Mozley 4r W. Compare Bengal Regulations; Bombay Regulations.

Master. Magister navis. The master of a vessel; he who has the whole care and government of the vessel. Magister societatis. The master of a partnership; the managing partner or ot

A person intrusted with power as a civil officer; one vested with public civil authority; one charged with the execution of municipal laws. A person intrusted with the commission o

The name of an ancient writ allowed for summoning a jnry of grand assise; and commencing with the words magna assisa eligenda. This species of extraordinary trial was instituted by

The great charter. A famous state paper of early English times, having been granted by, or rather extorted from. King John, on the demand of the barons of the time, in revolt again

An instrument formerly used in Scotland for beheading criminals. It consisted of a broad piece of iron, about a foot square, very sharp in the lower part, and loaded above with lea

notice to gonteactoks. Post-Office Department, Washington, D. C., 18^-. Proposals will be received at the Contract Ofi Sce of this Department until — a.m. of, 18 —, for carrying th

To deprive a person of a member or part of the body, the loss of which renders him less capable of fighting; to commit mayhem, q. v. To maim a domestic animal implies permanent inj

or MEINOUR. An old term for a thing stolen; spoken particularly of such thing when the thief is caught having it upon him, or, as it were, in his hand. To be " taken with the maino

A surety for the appearance of a person taken upon a writ of mainprise. According to Blackstone, and several authorities following his explanation, mainpernors differed from bail i

Taking in hand; taking into custody. The receiving into friendly custody a man who might otherwise be committed or detained in prison, upon security given for his appearance at a t

That part of the sea not within the body of a county. Baker v. Hoag, 7 N. Y. 555; 3 Barb. 203; 7 Id. 113.

Majesty. It was used in the Roman law to denote the supreme power in the state; also, as a contraction for lassa majestas or crimen Icesce majesiatis, i.e. treason.

In its original form as a Latin word, meaning greater, major appears in one or two maxims. Major haereditas venit unicuique nostrum a jure et legibus quam a parentibus. A greater i

1. The title of an officer in the army ranking next above a captain. 2. One who has attained the age of full civil rights and responsibilities; the opposite of minor or infant. 3.

The rank of a major in the army. 2. The civil condition or status of one who has attained full age. Twenty-one years of age is the period of complete legal majority for both sexes

This verb occurs, without great departure from the vernacular meaning, in several phrases. Make an assignment. This usually means the assigning all one's property for the benefit o

Wrong-doing; injury; a tort. This is a term of the civil law, nearly synonymous with delictum.

The commission of some act which is positively unlawful to do; opposed to nonfeasance, or the omission to perform a duty; and to misfeasance, or the improper performance of some la

Actual evil design; express malice. See Mali(5b. Malitia supplet aetatem. Malice supplies (or makes up for) age; wickedness of design supplies the want of age. Between the ages of

TEvil in itself.

1. In jurisprudence, as in the vernacular, may include all human beings, as in the expression, offences against man; homicide is taking the life of man; manslaughter, &c. Or it but

To conduct, direct, or oversee a business or enterprise. In so far as the use of the word is drawn in question in adjudications, it is generally applied to affairs somewhat complex

See Boot.

1. Every father, in the Roman law, had such an authority over his son, that, before the son could be released from his subjection and made free, he must be twice sold and bought, h

The name of a writ employed by courts of high jurisdiction, under common-law systems, for compelling subordinate courts or officers to perform their duties. The name is derived fro

The bailee, or party promising the service, in a contract of mandate. Sometimes spelled mandatory; but see Mandatory.

1. The name of a class of contracts, generally considered a species of bailment, in which one party, called the mandatary, undertakes, without reward, to render some sei-vice affec

The principal technical use of this word is in distinguishing statutes which must be obeyed according to the substantial import of their terms under sanction of having the act or p

I have commanded the bailiff. The name of a return made by a sheriff, in English practice, where he has committed >the execution of a writ to a ba Lifi who has the right to execute

To arrive at manhood means to arrive at twenty-one years of age..Hinton v. Hiuton, 1 Dev. ^ B. Eq. 585.

A form of insanity, consisting, according to the classification of Esquirol, as restated by Hammond, in perversion of the understanding, embracing all kinds of objects, and attende

One of the documents required to be cai-ried by a merchant vessel, by the duty laws of most countries. It gives an account of the cargo carried by the vessel, specifying in what go

A public, solemii declaration, put forth by the authorities of one nation, explaining the reasons for its acts towards another.

is a word of large signification, but cannot exceed the subject to which it belongs; the incident cannot be extended beyond its principal. Wells a. Bain, 75 Pa. St. 39, 54. Manner

In the strict sense of the term, in English law, it signifies a tract of land held by ancient tenure, the distinguishing incident of which is that it was granted by the king to a l

Unlawful homicide, without premeditation. This is a general indication of the nature of the offence; but the discrimination of manslaughter from murder requires a careful attention

The words starch manufactory, in a description in an insurance policy, will include fixtures, &c., necessary to the processes of the manufactory. Peoria, &c. Ins. Co. v. Lewis, 18

Is used, with reference to the law of patents, to denote whatever is made by turn an labor, either directly or through the instrumentality of machinery; also, for the process by wh

A statute giving a bounty for cloth manufactured in a family does not require that it should be fulled and dressed in the same family. Briggs V. Tillotson, 8 Johm. 304. What may be

In the bankrupt act, has a technical meaning. It does not include every person who manufactures. A farmer is not a manufacturer because he makes butter and cheese for sale from the

The terra manufacturing company does not include an aqueduct company. Dudley v. Jamaica Pond Aqueduct Co., 100 Mass. 183. The provision of 2 Rer. Stat. 415, § 33, — exempting from

To emancipate or set free; to give liberty to a bondman or slave. Manumitted: emancipated; set free from bondage or slavei-y. Manumission: the act of discharging or emancipating a

The hand. Manu brevi With short hand; briefly; directly. Manu forti. With strong hand. Technical words of pleading in cases of trespass and forcible entry, in the Latin forms of wr

An old English term for boundaries or frontiers, particularly the boundaries and limits between England and Wales, or between England and Scotland, or the borders of the dominions

as used in a deed executed by the governor and auditor of Indiana, and conveying to the purchaser all the right, title, and interest of the state to a certain canal, "including its

1. Pertaining to the sea; nearly equivalent to maritime. 2. A soldier of that class which are enlisted for employment on board of vessels of war. Marine is a general name for the n

Includes cooks, stewards, carpenters, coopers, and firemen, as well as sailors; all on board the vessel employed in her equipment, her preservation, or the preservation of the crew

Dowry; a portion given with a daughter on her marriage; also, in feudal law, the right which the lord had to control the marriage of his vassals' daughters, or to exact a fee or tr

Bouvier defines it as meaning that which belongs to marriage; as marital rights, marital duties. But we think it is generally (not invariably) used of that which pertains to the hu

n., or MARC. The name of an ancient coin; also, a weight used in some parts of Europe, more particularly fopweighing the precious metals.

n. 1. Persons unable to write their names are allowed to subscribe written instruments by making their mark, commonly done by the subscriber making two lines across each other, on

I/. In a statute requiring designated courts " to mark and lay out the bounds and rules of the prisons in their several counties," " which marks and bounds shall be recorded by the

n. 1. Originally, an authorized place for the sale of commodities; a place designated by law for public traffic. 2. Hence, secondarily, in old English law, a franchise or liberty p

That which may lawfully and justly be sold. Thus, decayed and unwholesome provisions are not marketable. Marketable title, to land, is such title as a purchaser may, in view of a c

A person who, because he cannot write, and instead of

or MARQUIS. A title of high grade in English nobility, being next in rank below that of duke.

1. In old English law, the title applicable to several officers of different grades and powers; particularly the earl-marshal, or lord-marshal, who presided in the ancient court of

1). To arrange; to place in order. Marshalling: arranging; designating order or rank. Marshalling assets. A doctrine of equitable jurisprudence intended to secure such an administr

1. The name of an English court, now abolished. It •was originally held before the steward and marshal of the king's house; having been instituted to administer justice between the

A designation bestowed on persons in several distinct relations or offices, authorized to control others. Master and apprentice. In the relation of apprenticeship, the master is th

The title of the officer of a merchant vessel second in rank, or next styled first, second,, thirds &o., mate, ranking accordingly. On the death or disability of the master, the ma

adj. Important. As applied to evidence ofiered in a cause, or facts drawn in question in a proceeding, it means much the same as relevant. Matters are pronounced material or immate

A person who has furnished lumber, iron, brick, or any other merchandise or stuff necessary and useful in the construction or repair of a building, structure, or vessel. The term i

In provisions of a slate company's charter, fixi Dg the stockholders for debts to mechanics, &e., refers to that only which forms part of the products of the company. Moyer ti. Pa.

The crime of killing one's mother.

Marriage (9. w.). In the sense of the relation or status, not of the ceremony. Matrimonial causes, is a term used in England more than in the United States to designate that class

Seems to mean, originally, a woman who has been a mother. It is often used as the style of a female superintendent of an institution or establishment where the duties involve domes

Occurs in some technical phrases. Matter in controversy, or in dispute. Statutes conferring jurisdiction frequently limit it to causes in which the matter in controversy, or matter

Is not synonymous' with legal majority. As used by a testator, it may well be held to import maturity of mind and character, the combined result of age and education. Condict v. Ki

The offence of violently depriving a person of any limb, member, or organ useful in fighting, either offensive or defensive; also, the personal injury which may have this effect is

The usual title of the chief executive officer of a city. See Burrill for an interesting paragi-aph on the derivation of the word.

The phrase " or the attempt by any other means," in the statute punishing the setting fire to buildings or to any ment of physical means. Mc Dade v. People, 29 Mich. 50. Means of s

Aside from cases in which nominal damages only are allowed, and from cases in which exemplary (9. v.) or liquidated (q.- v.) or statutory damages may be recovered, the general aim

A species of remedy allowed by the statute laws of most of the states to persons furnishing materials or labor towards the construction of a building, whereby, in proper cases, pay

Is that branch of jurisprudence which treats of controversies and questions requiring technical medical knowledge and skill, as well as knowledge of law; also called — less appropr

A son or daughter residing with a father does not cease to be a member of his family by the mere fact of arriving at twenty-one or eighteen years of age. Chicago, &c. R. Co. v. Chi

Let it be remembered. When legal instruments were in Latin, a writing, for which no technical form was prescribed, but which was drawn up to embody and preserve some transaction, o

1. Mental capacity. The phrase, sound and disposing mind and memory, means, not merely distinct recollection of the items of one's property and the persons among whom it may be giv

The body of general rules and customs prevailing among persons in trade, and by which, iu addition to statutes and rules of the common law, in the strict sense of the latter term,

A comprehensive general term for all those things which persons in trade usually keep for sale. The word is not capable of exact definition, being collective. In most uses it signi

Originally, one who^ji carries on trade with foreign countries; ' also, one whose business it is to buy and sell, irrespective of whether he trades abroad or only at home. Merchant

Occurs, u.sed substantially in the vernacular sense, in some technical phrases. Mere motion. The free and voluntary act of a party himself, done without the suggestion or influence

The absorption or extinguishment of a lesser estate, right, or liability by a greater one; the lesser becoming extinct, while the greater is not increased. With regard to estates i

Between; intermediate; middle. Mesne assignment. If A grant a lease of land to B, and B assign his interest to C, and C in his turn assign his interest therein to D, in this case t

In congressional practice, a message is received, in writing, from the president of the United States, usually at the commencement of the it appears to the executive; and, at other

The officer whose duty it is to take charge of a bankrupt's estate on adjudication of bankruptcy, pending appointment and qualification of assignee, is technically styled messenger

A term used in deeds in describing the.premises conveyed, It is, however, more technical than dwelling-house, and several decisions have given it a broader extent than that term ha

White lead, nitrate of lead, oxide of zinc, and dry and orange mineral, are not among the articles subject to a reduction of duty, under the act of June 6, as "manufactures of meta

or METER. A unit of measurement, of French contrivance, introduced about the commencement of the present century, as the basis of an improved system of weights and measures. In the

when used with reference to the English metropolis, local management acts, and the decisions and practice under them, includes the city of London and the following parishes and pla

1. In ecclesiastical law, is one of the titles of an archbishop. The archbishop of Canterbury is styled " primate of all England and the metropolitan," because the province of Cant

A term of the French law, corresponding to "movables" in English law. Things are meubles from either their own nature as chattels; or by positive law, as evidences of debt; or from

One of the terms of court, beginning on the 2d of November, and ending on the 25th or 26th of the same month, according as the 25th is not or is Sunday. Under the judicature act, 1

An intermediate agent; a broker between producer and consumers; between land-owner and occupant. A middleman, in Ireland, is a person who takes land in large tracts from the propri

Corresponds in the navy to cadet in the army. A youth employed on board ship of war; -whose duties are chiefly to transmit and second the orders of the officers; and to render any

A compensation for duties or services involving journeying, measured by the distance, i.e. number of miles, travelled.

Pertaining to war or to the army; concerned with war. The word is quite generally used in antithesis to naval; yet in many of its applications the navy, so far as that branch is a