Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence

Relating to the banks of rivers. Riparian proprietors are those who own lands on the banks of rivers. Riparian rights are such rights as arise out of or are connected with or pecul

A danger, hazard, or peril. Also, in insurance law, the obligation of an insurer; the probability that he may be called upon to respond for a loss; and sometimes the anticipated ca

In general, if in a body of water there is a steady and uniform current, it will be a river. But this definition must be taken in connection with the particular body of water to wh

Is not limited to a public way. As used in a statute prescribing the law of the road for travellers, it should be deemed to include private ways; for the object of the law is to pr

The felonious taking of property from the person of another, accomplished by means of force or fear. The taking must be felonious, criminal; any taking by lawful right, as by a she

is said to be used in former English law in a sense somewhat different from the vernacular one, now very common, of an ingenious swindler: viz., in that of an idle, sturdy beggar,

In modern usage, a schedule or sheet of parchment on which legal proceedings are entered. Thus, in English practice, the roll of parchment on which the issue is entered is termed t

In a deed, will pass such land of the grantor as is exclusively devoted to the use of the rope-walk. Davis ^. Handy, 37 N. H. 65.

According to Hawkins's definition, which has been often quoted and approved, is a disturbance of the peace by persons assembling together with an intent to do a thing which, if exe

A state statute provided that, locomotive engine of any railroad corporation, the said corporation shall be responsible in damages for such injury," and have an insurable interest

n. 1. A formal regulation agreed upon or prescribed by authority: as rules of a society or company, general rules of court. 2. A decision, direction, mandate, or order of court; ge

A covenant is said to run with the land when either the liability to perform it, or the right to take advantage of it, passes to the assignee of that land. Thus, if A grants B a le

An officer of the established church in England, generally a parochial clergyman, appointed to act under the bishop or archdeacon; his proper duty being to inspect the conduct of t

or SABBATH-DAY.. Is sometimes used as a designation of the first day of the week, considered as a religious holiday; a day consecrated to rest, and such religious observances as in

Authority to exercise jurisdiction in the court of a lordship or manor, and to impose mulcts and forfeitures upon transgressors. Termes de la Ley; Cowel.

The' offence of desecrating any thing that is consecrated to religious uses; despoiling churches, and the like. The alienation of lands which were given to religious purposes to la

An assurance of safety, granted by the sovereign power, or commander-in-chief in time of war, guaranteeing that a person may pass through a portion of the territory without molesta

A security given by the king to a stranger, who fears the violence of some of his subjects, for seeking his right by course of law. Cowel.

A surety given for a man's appearance at a day assigned. Cowel.

Is constantly used in legal papers, with the same force as, and ap- S. The word said, in an entry, is a relative^ w term, and refers to its next antecedent./'^ Ellis V. Horine, 1 A

When a vessel quits her moorings, in complete readiness for sea, and it is the actual and real intention of the master to proceed on the voyage, and slie is afterwards stopped by h

Does not necessarily import a place to sell liquors. It may mean a place for the sale of general refreshments. Kitson V. Mayor, &c. of Ann Arbor, 26 Mich. 325. Saloon has not acqui

An allowance for saving a ship or goods from the danger of the seas, from fire, pirates, or enemies. Weeks v. The Catharina Maria, 2 Pet. Adm. 424; Lea v. The Alexander, 2 Paine, 4

The word same does not always mean identical, not different or other. It frequently means of the kind or species, not the specific thing. Crapo v. Brown, 40 Imoa, 487, 493. A contr

A place privileged for the safeguard of offenders' lives, being founded upon the law of mercy, and the great reverence and devotion which the prince bears to the place whereunto he

Of natural and normal mental condition; healthy in mind. Sane memory: sanity; health of mind; soundness of understanding. Sanity is the natural and usual condition of the mind. Woo

In technical use, generally means to comply actually and fully with a demand; to extinguish, by payment or performance. Satisfaction: the extinguishment of a demand, particularly o

An institution only partially embodying the features of a bank in the full sense of the term, the purpose of which is to promote the prosperity of persons of small means and limite

When used in reference to pleading in equity, scandal is defined to be any thing alleged in a bill, answer, or other pleading, in such language as is vmbecoming the court to hear,

A clause of a statute that, lent to saying that in case a society shall separate, divide, or become partitioned, without any reference to its external relations. Mc Kinney o. Grigg

1. A formal regulation agreed upon or prescribed by authority: as rules of a society or company, general rules of court. 2. A decision, direction, mandate, or order of court; gener

Knowingly; with knowledge. In the Latin forms of declarations and indictments, scienter was the formal and emphatic word used to express knowledge, on the part of a defendant, of c

To wit; that is to say; namely. This word was formerly much used in pleadings and in written instruments generally, introducing some explanatory matter relating to that which immed

A spark of right. The smallest particle of legal right or interest. This term was applied to a legal fiction employed to enable feoffees to uses to sei Te and support contingent us

A contribution formerly paid to the use of the sheriff or his bailiffs. Cmoel. Scot and lot. Customary contributions laid upon all subjects according to their ability. Cowel. The p

See Scroll. Scribere est agere. To vfrite is to act. Treasonable words, such as words of advice or persuasion to commit the crime, if set down in writing, constitute an overt act o

Certificates of shares in a public company, of an interest in corporate profits, &c. A scrip certificate is a certificate entitling the holder to apply for shares in a public compa

Generally, any writing. In English probate practice, it is used of a testamentary document of any kind, whether a will, codicil, draft of a will the same. Thus it is said that, in

Seems to have signified, in old times, a class of agents who made it their business to receive money from persons desirous to lend it, find borrowers, advise on the securities offe

The payment made by tenants in chivalry, in lieu of personal service. Cmvd; 1 Bl. Com. 310; 2 Id. 74. A tax or contribution raised by those that held lands by knight service, towar

Prior to the series of decisions which have made the term admiralty juiisdiction independent of the ebb and flow of the tide (see Admiralty), the decisions of American courts were

Originally, an instrument for impressing wax or wafer, as a means of attesting the genuineness and solemn intention of a writing; but it has come to be much more used, in law, to s

A person whose business vidual engaged in navigating ships, barges, &c., upon the high seas; and says that those employed for this purpose upon rivers, lakes, or canals are denomin

A careful, strict examination; usually one made by authority of law. There is a search made by officers of a vessel of one nation visiting and examining the papers of a vessel of a

Is an adjective applied to vessels, signifying in good condition to be navigated; fit to go on her voyage. The proper meaning of the term, alone, is fit for general navigation, suc

An officer of the court of king's bench and common pleas, so called because he was second or next to the chief officer. The secondaries of these courts were abolished by 7 Wm. IV.

A conveyance of such a nature as pre-supposes some other conveyance precedent, and which only serves to alter, confirm, enlarge, restrain, restore, or transfer the interest granted

A familiar and reasonable rule of evidence requires that a party shall produce that species of evidence which the nature of the fact to be proved indicates as most proper, and whic

A use hmited to take effect in derogation of a preceding estate, otherwise called a shifting use, q. v. An example is: a conveyance to the use of A and his heirs, with a proviso, w

A writ which lies for a plaintiff after he has been nonsuited in an action of replevin, in pursuance of which the sheriff must again deliver to the plaintiff the goods that were di

When distress for rent is allowed, if the property taken under the first distress is not enough to satisfy the landlord's demand, he might distrain again, in cases allowed by law,

A title of one intrusted with business involving writing as a chief element. Five of the heads of departments in the United States government have the title of secretary; viz., the

One where the existence of certain persons as partners is not avowed to the public by any of the partners. Deering v. Flanders, 49 N. H. 225.

Suit. This word, in its secondary meaning (see Suit) means suit in the courts; lawsuit. Thus ad sectam, which is often seen in the abbreviated form, ads., means at the suit of. Seo

1. The unit of measurement in the government surveys of the United States public lands. The general features of the system prescribed divide the public lands into townships six mil

According to; following. A Latin word, which occurs in some phrases. Secundum allegata et probata. According to what is alleged and proved. This phrase is used in expressing the ru

To make certain of payment or performance; to assure, guarantee, or indemnify. A debtor who gives his creditor a lien upon some property by means of which the creditor may collect

Otherwise. Used in the reports and digests to introduce a converse proposition, or an exception to the general principle which has been previously stated.

Like " sea-shore," imports a tract of land below high-water mark. Church v. Meeker, 34 Conn. 421.

Conduct tending towards treason, but wanting an overt act; attempts made, by meetings or speeches, or by publications, to disturb the tranquillity of the state, which do not amount

But by the court. An expression sometimes used in reports, after stating remarks of a single judge, to introduce the opinion of the court.

To procure unlawful sexual intercourse by persuasion, overcoming the natural scruples of a chaste character; to debauch by means of solicitations. Seduction: the wrong (in some jur

n. The circuit of a bishop's jurisdiction; or his office or dignity, as being bishop of a given diocese.

In its general signification, means lord, but in law it is particularly applied to the lord of a fee or of a manor; and the fee, dominions, or manor of a seignior is thence termed

See Seisin. Seised in demesne as of fee. This is the strict technical expression used to describe the ownership in " an estate in feesimple in possession in a corporeal hereditamen

A possession of real property founded on title; enjoyment or occupancy assumed in virtue of a right. Seise: to take possession of lands of freehold tenure, by livery. Seised: inves

The style or title of a town officer. In many of the United States, the afiairs of a town are decided by popular vote in town meeting; but the executive conduct of them, and the de

To dispose of by sale, q. v. Seller: the party in a contract of sale who parts with the property principally mentioned; one who, for a valuable consideration, contracts to transfer

It seems. A word frequently used in judicial opinions and in the syllabi of reporters, to denote that what follows it is an expression of opinion on some point not directly involve

Has no definite and fixed legal meaning; it is used in a general way to designate institutions of learning. Chegary v. Mayor, &c. of N. Y., 13 N. Y. 220.

Always. A word which introduces several Latin maxims, of which some are also used without this prefix. Semper in dubiis benigniora praeferenda sunt. In doubtful matters, the more f

Ordained of the senate. In the earlier periods of Romau history, laws were enacted by popular vote; but when the number of the people had grown so large that they could not be asse

May mean almost any final determination by a judicial tribunal; but it was commonly used of those of criminal and ecclesiastical courts; while " judgment " is generally used of civ

Separately. This word was used in Latin forms of indictments to qualify the description of the offence so as to make it appear that the two or more defendants named were charged as

In its vernacular meaning of distinct, set apart, occurs in some technical phrases. Separate action. A phrase used with reference to the doctrine which, in Tnany cases, allows two

Separately. A word used in conveyances, in Latin, to make a several covenant.

In modern use, to take into judicial custody, pending a controversy. Sequestration: the name of a remedy used in chancery and ecclesiastical com'ts, whereby property is taken into

Successively; one after another; in order; individually. In cases of great importance, or where the judges differ in opinion, it is usual for them to deliver their judgments indivi

When used in a phrase such as " serious bodily harm," this word is synonymous with great, and its use in criminal pleading, instead of the word great, is a sufficient compliance wi

A species of tenure by knight service, which was due to the king only; and was distinguished into grand and petit sergeanty. The tenant wars, to do some honorary service to the kin

In feudal law, was where a tenant, besides payment of a certain rent, found one or more workmen for his lordjs service. Tomlins.

Is used with somewhat different shades of meaning. In its early sense, a hireling employed in and about a house to perform duties of an inferior nature — tasks appropriate for a se

Besides its popular meaning of to render subordinate aid or perform menial duty (see Servant), the verb " to serve " has an important technical meaning in connection with process.

Bondmen or servile tenants. They were of four sorts: such as sold themselves for a livelihood; debtors sold for being incapable of paying their debts; captives in war, retained and

1. Is sometimes that description of duty, inferior and even menial, which a servant is bound and expected to render; thus slaves were, in the constitution, described as persons hel

Subject to a burden or servitude. In the law of easements, a tenement whose owner is, as such, subject to an easement enjoyed by an adjoining tenement is called a servient estate o

The old law-Latin word for service (q. u.), in the sense of a duty owed to a feudal superior. Servitium liberum. A sort of free or liberal service which certain feudatory tenants,

Messengers of the marshal of the king's bench, who were sent to serve bills or writs to summon men to court, were, in old times, called servitors of bills.

In the vernacular, more commonly means the condition of being bound as a servant; but in its legal use, it is applied to things. Kent defines it as a charge upon one estate for the

A sitting; sometimes used for the time during which any body of persons or tribunal is organized, competent for transaction of its business; in other connections, the time during w

V. Setting down a cause for hearing is done by entering the name of the cause ia the list of matters ready to come on for hearing in court, specifying the stage at which it is read

Is a remedy which consists in merging two independent demands held by two persons, each against tinguish, as far as amounts permit, a demand held by B against A. And a set-off is a

See Severance.

Distinct; separate; the opposite of joint. A w Ul provided for a division of testator's property after the " several deaths " of four persons named. Held, that " several " should n

Singling; dividing; disjoining. 1. In pleading at law, when there are several defendants in an action, they may either all plead jointly one and the same defence, or each defendant

May apply to an underground structure for conducting the waters of a natural stream, as well as to one used exclusively for the surface flow. Bennett V. New Bedford, 110 Mass. 433.

In a statute prohibiting incest, is equivalent to " carnal knowledge," in the law against rape. Noble v. State, 22 Ohio St. 543.

Whether the word shaU im- X ports futurity, depends upon the subjectmatter and the context. Hannibal, &c. B. B. Co. V. State Board of Equalization, 64 Mo. 294, 304. A statute decla

Pallio cooperlre. Literally, to cover with a cloth. The phrase refers to an ancient English custom, according to which, when parents of children born out of wedlock afterwards inte

How to be construed, when used with respect to ownership of bank stock, in a statute regulating taxation, see Harrison v. Vines, 46 Tex. 15; Van Syke V. State, 23 Wis. 655. In spea