A Dictionary of Law
1st edition, 1891 — browse every term in this dictionary, A–Z.
Showing the 869 terms defined in A Dictionary of Law. Browse all dictionaries
In old English law. Unfavorably thought of; in bad repute or credit. Bract. fols. 116, 154. Maledicta est expositio qux corrumplttextum. That is a cursed interpretation which corru
A curse, which was anciently annexed to donations of lands made to churches or religious houses, against those who should violate their rights. Cowell.
Acrime; an offense,
He who is guilty, or has been convicted, of some crime or offense, Maleficia non debent remanere impunita; et impunitas continuum aflectum tribuit delinquenti. 4 Coke, 45. Evil dee
In the civil law. Waste; tort; 5, 18, 1.
or MALSWORNK. Forsworn. Cowell.
- Malfeasancedefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Stimson (1881)Abbott (1879)Bouvier (1839)
The wrongful or unjust doing of some act which the doer has no right to perform, or which he has stipulated by contiact not todo. It differs from “misfeasance” and “non-feasance,”
In Spanish law. Offense. White, New Recop. b. 2, tit. 19, ¢. 1, § 1.
Fr. Against the will; without theconsent. IZLence the single werd “malgre,” and more modern ‘“maugre,” (q- 0)
- Malicedefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Stimson (1881)
In criminal law. In its legal pense, this word does not simply meun ill will against a person, but signifies a wrongful act done intentionally, without just cause orexcuse. 4 Barn.
Malice aforethought; deliberate, predetermined malice. 2 Rolle, 461.
- Maliciousdefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)
Evincing majice; done with malice and an evil design; willful.
In criminal law. The desertion of a wife or busband without just cause.
An injury committed against a person at the prompting of malice or hatred towards him, or done spitefully or wantonly.
- Malicious Mischiefdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)
A term applied to the willful destruction of personal property, from actual ill will or resentment towards its owner or possessor. 3 Dev. & B. 130. Malicious mischief or damage is
To malign or alander; also to maim.
- Malitiadefined inBallentine's (1916)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Abbott (1879)
Lat. Actual evil design; express malice, Malitia est acida; est mali animi affectus. Malice is sour; it is the quality of a bad mind. 2 Bulst. 49. Malitia supplet etatem. Malice su
In old European law. A court of the higher kind in which the more important business of the county was dispatched by the count or earl, Spelman. A public national assembly.
Lat. With an evil mind; with a bad purpose or wrongful intention; with malice,
Inspite; unwillingly.
Inan evil sense or meaning; with an evil signification.
- Malpracticedefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)
See Mata PRAXIS.
A quernormalt-mill. MALT-SHOT or MALT-SCOT. A certain payment for making malt, Somner.
Fr. Inold French law. A term said to havearisen from the usurious gains of the Jews and Lombards in their management of the public revenue. Steph. Lect. 372.
In reference to the treatment of his patient by a surgeon, this term signifies improper or unskillful treatment; it may result either from ignorance, neglect, or willfulness; but t
An excise duty upon malt in Engiand. 1 Bl. Comm, 813; 2 Steph. Comin. 581.
Lat. In Romanlaw. A mast; the mast of a ship. Dig. 50, 17, 242, pr. Held to be part of the ship. Id.
A wrong initself; an act or case involving illegality from the very nature of the transaction, upon principles of natural, moral, and public law. Story, Ag. § 346. An act is sald t
A wrong prohibited; a thing which is wrong because prohibited; an act which is not inherently immoral, but becomes so because its commission is expressly forbidden by positive law;
- Malveillesdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Bouvier (1839)
In old English law. Ill will; crimes and misdemeanors; malicious practices. Cowell.
A warlike engine to batter and beat down walls.
- Malveis Procurorsdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)
Such as used to pack juries, by the nomination of either party in @ cause, or other practice. Cowell.
- Malversationdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Bouvier (1839)
In French law. This word is applied to all grave and punishable faulls committed in the exercise of a charge or commission, (office,) such as cor. ruption, exaction, concussion, la
- Mandefined inCyclopedic (1922)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Abbott (1879)Bouvier (1839)
A buman being. A person of the male sex. A male of the human species above the age of puberty. In feudal law. A vassal; a tenant or feudatory. The Anglo-Saxon relation of lord and
This phrase comprehends all articlea or things, whether animal or vegetable, living or dead, which are used for food, and whether they are consumed in the form in which they are bo
To coandnet; to carry on; to direct the concerns of a business or establishment. Generally applied to affairs that are
A person chosen or appointed to manage, direct, or administer the affairs of another person or of a corporation or company.
Members of the houses of parliament appointed to represent each house at a conference between the two houses. It is an an- ¢ienf rule that the number of commons named ior a confere
A person who is invested with general power, involving, the exercise of julement and discretion, as distinguished from an ordinary agent or employe, who acts in an inferior capacit
The managing owner of a ship is one of severa! co-owners, to whom the others, or those of them whe join in the adventure, have delegated the management of the ship. He has authorit
A munsion-house or dwelling-place. Cowell.
Men of a mean condition, or of the lowest degree.
- Manbotedefined inCyclopedic (1922)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Stimson (1881)
In Saxon law. A compensation or recormpense for homicide, particularly due to the lord for killing his man or yassal, the amount of which was regulated by that of the were.
In Reman law. <A purehaser; one who took the article sold in his hand; a formality observed in certain sales. Calvin. A farmer of the public taxes.
- Manche-Presentdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)
Abribe; a present from the donor’s own hand.
In Romanlaw. Tosell, glienate, or make over to another; to sell with certain formalities; toselia person; one
To enslave; to bind; to tie.
In Roman law. A certain ceremony or formal process anciently required to be performed, to perfect the sale or conveyance of res mancipi, (jand, houses, slaves, horses, or cattle.)
In Roman law. Certain elusses of things which could not be aliened or transferred except by means of a certain formal ceremony of conveyance calied “mancipatio,” {q, 0.) These incl
In Spanishlaw. An another, and makes himself liable to pay or fulfill it. Schm. Civil Law, 120,
In Spanish law. Commission; authority or power of attorney. A contract of good faith, by which one person commits to the gratuitous charge of another his affairs, and the latter ac
- Mandamusdefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Stimson (1881)Abbott (1879)
Lat. We command, This is the name of a wril (formerly a high prerogative writ) which issues from a court of superior jurisdiction, and ig directed to a private or municipal corpora
- Mandansdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Stimson (1881)
In the civil law. The employing party in a contract of mandate. One who gives a thing in charge to another; one who requires, requests, or employs another todo some act for him. In
In Frenchand Scotch law. The employing party in the contract of mandatum, or mandate. Story, Bailm, § 138. tensam, Lawful commands receive a strict interpretation, but unlawful com
Fr. In French law. A person employed by another to do some act for him; a mandatary. Mandatarius terminos sibi positos transgredi non potest. A mandatary cannot exceed the limits a
- Mandatarydefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Abbott (1879)Bouvier (1839)
He to whom a mandate, charge, or commandment is given; also, he that obtains a benefice by mandamus.
- Mandatedefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Abbott (1879)Bouvier (1839)
In practice. A judicial command or precept proceeding from a court or judicial officer, directing the proper officer to entorce a judgment, sentence, or decree, Jones, Bailm. 52.;
In Spanishlaw. The contract of mandate. Escriche.
PANES DE. Loaves of bread given to the poor upon Maundy Thursday.
- Mandatordefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Bouvier (1839)
The person employing another to perform a mandate,
- Mandatory Injunctiondefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)
In equity practice. An order compelling a defendant to restore things to the condition in which they were at the time when the plaintiff's complaint was made. 383 Law J Eq. {N. S.)
- Mandatumdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Stimson (1881)
In the civil law. The contract of mandate, (¢. v.}
- Mandavi Ballivodefined inBallentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Abbott (1879)
(I have commanded or made my mandate to the bailiff.) In English practice. The return made by a sheriff, where the bailiff of a liberty has the execution of a writ, that he has com
Tenants. Obsolete. Cowell.
In Spanishlaw. Manner or mode. las Partidas, pt. 4, tit. 4, 1. 2.
In old English law. A manor. et stabilis. Co. Litt. 58. A manor is so called from manendo, according to its excellence, a seat, great, fixed, and firm.
In old English law. To buy in a market.
A warlike instrnment for casting stones against the walls of acastle. Cowell.
- Manhooddefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Abbott (1879)
Infeudallaw. Atermde noting the ceremony of duing homage by the vassal to his lord. The formula used was, “Devenio vester homo,” I become your wan. 2 Bl. Comm, 54. To arrive at man
- Maniadefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Abbott (1879)
“Mania is that form of insanity where the mental derangement is accompanied with more or less of excitement. Sometimes the excitement amounts toa fury. The individual in such cases
A disease induced from the intemperate use of spirituous liguors; the same as delirium tremens.
- Manifestdefined inU.S. CodeCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Stimson (1881)Abbott (1879)
In maritime law. A sea-letter; a written document required to be earried by merchant vessels, containing an account of the cargo, with other particulars, for the facility of the cu
- Manifestodefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Abbott (1879)
A formal written decla. ration, promulgated by a prince, or by the executive authority of a state or nation, proclaiming its reasons and motives for declaring a war, or for any oth
Ineanonlaw. A hand-
The race or species of human beings. In law, females, as well as males, may be included under this term. Fortesc. 91.
- Mannerdefined inCase LawCyclopedic (1922)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Abbott (1879)
This is a word of large signification, but cannot exceed the subject to which it belongs. The incident cannot be extended beyond its principal. 75 Pa. St. 39, 54. Manner does not n
A day’s work of a man. Cowell. A snnimoning to court. Spelman.
To cite any person tu appear in court and stand in judgment there. li is different from bannire; for, though both of them are citations, this is by the adverse party, and that is b
In old English law. Goods taken in the hands of an apprehended thief. The same as “mainour,” (q. v.)
A horse. Cowell, MANOR A house, dwelling, seat, or residence. In English law, the manor was originally a tract of land granted out by the king to a lord or other great person, in f
In Saxonlaw. A Tourderer.
In Scotch law. The servnr ice of a man or vassal. <A bond of manrent was an instrument by which a person, in order to secure the protection of some powerful lord, bound himself to
A bastard. Cowell. ee
<A dwelling-house, In old English law. Residence; dwelling.
in the law of burglary, etc., any species of dwelling-house. Se 3 Inst. 64.
- Manslaughterdefined inCyclopedic (1922)Ballentine's (1916)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Black's (1891)Anderson (1889)Stimson (1881)Abbott (1879)Bouvier (1839)
In criminal law, The unlawfulkilling of another without malice, cither express or implied; which may be either voluntarily, upon a sudden heat, or involuntarily, but in the commiss
A word sometimes used synonymously with “kidnapping,” (g- 0.)
Tame; as though accustomed tocome tothe hand. 2B]. Comm. 391.
The manorhouse o: lord's court. Paroch. Antig. 150.
In old records, A long robe oT mantle.
In Saxonlaw. A horsestealer.
To pick pockets.
Engines to catch trespassers, now unlawful unless sct in a dwelling-house for defense between sunset and sunrise. 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100, § 31.
Verformed by the hand; used or employed by the hand; held in the hand. Thus, a distress cannot be made of tools in the “manual occupation” of the debtor.
The manual gift, that is, the giving of corporeal movable effects, accompanied by a real delivery, is not subject toany formality. Civil Code La. art. 1539.
Thedally distributions of meat and drink to the canons
Sworn obedience or submission upon oath. Cowell.
In old English prac. tice A writ which lay for a man taken on suspicion of felony, and the like, who could no. be admitted to.bail by the sheriff, or others haying power to let te
A building, the main or principal design or use of which is to be aplace for producing articles as products of labor; not merely a place where something may be made by hand or mach
- Manufacturedefined inCase LawU.S. CodeCyclopedic (1922)Bouvier (1914)Black's (1910)Kinney (1893)Black's (1891)Abbott (1879)
0 The primary meaning of this word is “making with the hand,” but this definition is too narrow for its present use. Its meaning has expanded ag workmanship and art have advanced,