Black's Law Dictionary

In English practice. A judicial writ touching a plea of lands or tenements, divided into cape magnum or the grand cape, which lay before appearance to summon the tenant to answer t

A species of cape magnum.

In old records. A box, cabinet or repository in which were preserved the relica of martyrs. Spelman. A small building in which relics were preserved; an oratory or chapel. Id. In o

Vessels of war owned by private persons, and different from ordinary privateers only in size, being smaller. Beawes, Lex Mere, 230.

Lat. "That you take." The general name for several species of writs, the common characteristic of which is that they require the officer to take the body of the defendant into cust

A writ issued, in a case of misdemeanor, after the defendant has appeared and is found guilty, to bring him to hear j'udgment if he is not present when called. 4 Bl. Comm. 368.

In the action of account render, after judgment of quod computet, if the defendant refuses to appear personally before the auditors and make his account, a writ by this name may is

A writ of execution, (usually termed, for brevity, a "co. sa.,") which a party may issue after having recovered judgment against another in certain actions at law. It commands the

A judicial writ, (usually simply termed a "capias,") by which actions at law were frequently commenced; and which commands the sheriff to take the defendant, and him safely keep, s

A writ of execution issuable in England against a debtor to the crown, which commands the sheriff to "take" or arrest the body, and "cause to be extended" the lands and goods of th

A writ, in the nature of a reprisal, which lies for one whose goods or cattle, taken under a distress, are removed from the county, so that they cannot be replevied, commanding the

(That you take for the fine or in mercy.) Formerly, if the verdict was for the defendant, the plaintiff was adjudged to be amerced for his false claim ; but, if the verdict was for

(You take the outlaw.) In English practice. A writ which lies against a person who has been outlawed in an action, by which the sheriff is commanded to take him, and keep him in cu

(Let him be taken for the fine.) In English practice. A clause inserted at the end of old judgment records in actions of debt, where the defendant denied his deed, and it was found

Heads, and, figuratively, entire -bodies, whether of persons or animals. Spelman. Persons individually considered, without relation to others, (polls;) as distinguished from stirpe

adj. Affecting or relating to the head or life of a person; entailing the uitimate penalty. Thus, a capital crime is one punishable with death. Walker v. State, 28 Tex. App. 503, 1

One for which the punishment of death is prescribed and inflicted. Walker v. State, 28 Tex. App. 503, 13 S. W. 860; Ex parte Dusenberry, 07 Mo. 504, 11 S. W. 217.

A thing which is stolen or the value of it. Blount.

Live cattle, Blount.

In old English law. Chief, principal; at the head. A term applied to persons, places, judicial proceedings, and some kinds of property. —Capitalis baro. In old English law. Chief b

In old English law. Chief baron. Capitulis baro scaceani domini regia, chief baron of the exchequer. Townsh. PI 211.

Chief warden or magistrate ; mayor. Fleta, lib. 2, c. 64, § 2.

The chief or principal debtor, as distinguished from a surety, (plegtus.)

Chief lord. Fleta, lib. 1, c. 12, § 4 ; Id. c. 28, § 5.

Chief justice of all England. The title of the presiding justice in the court of aula regis. 3 Bl. Comm. 38; 1 Reeve, Eng. Law, 48.

The chief justiciary; the principal minister of state, and guardian of the realm in the king's absence. This office originated under William the Conqueror; but its power was greatl

Chief justice for holding pleas before the king. The title of the chief justice of the king's bench, first assumed in the latter part of the reign of Henry III. 2 Reeve, Eng. Law,

Chief justice of the bench. The title of the chief justice of the (now) court of common pleas, first mentioned in the first year of Edward I. 2 Reeve, Eng. Law, 48.

A chief pledge ; a head borough. Townsh. PI. 35.

A chief rent.

A head-land. A piece of land lying at the head of other land.

The common stock or fund of a corporation. The sum of money raised by the subscriptions of the stockholders, and divided into shares. It is said to be the sum upon which calls may

A tenant in capite. He wbo held his land or title directly from the king himself. A captain; a naval commander.

By heads; by the poll; as individuals. In the distribution of an intestate's personalty, the persons legally entitled to take are said to take per capita when they claim, each in h

In old law and surveys. To head, front or abut; to touch at the head, oi end.

Lat. By the head; by the poll; severally to each Individual.

One which is levied upon the person simply, without any reference to his property, real or personal or to any business in which he may be engaged or to any employment which he may

Lat. By the head. Tenure in capite was an ancient feudal tenure, whereby a man held lands of the king immediately. It was of two sorts,—the one, principal and general or of the kin

In the civll law. One who had suffered capitis diminutio, one who lost status or legal attributes. See Dig. 4, 5.

In Roman law. A diminishing or abridgment of personality. This was a loss or curtailment of a man's status or aggregate of legal attributes and qualifications, following upon certa

The highest or most comprehensive loss of status. This occurred when a man's condition was changed from one of freedom to one of bondage, when he became a slave. It swept away with

A lesser or medium loss of status. This occurred where a man lost his rights of citizenship, but without losing his liberty. It carried away aiso the family rights.

The lowest or least comprehensive degree of loss of status. This occurred where a man's family relations alone were changed. It happened upon the arrogation of a person who had bee

In Saxon law. The estimation or value of the head, that is, the price or value of a man's life.

A covering for the head, mentioned in St. 1 Hen. IV. and other old statutes, which prescribe what dresses shall be worn by all degrees of persons. Jacoh.

Collections of laws and ordinances drawn up under heads of divisions. Spelman. The term is used in the civil and old English law, and applies to the ecclesiastical law also, mcanin

Chapters of the crown. Chapters or heads of inquiry, resembling the oapitula itineris, (infra) but of a more minute character.

A register of mortgages made to the Jews. 2 Bl. Comm. 343 ; Crabb, Eng. Law, 130, et seq.

Articles of inquiry which were anciently delivered to the justices in eyre when they set out on their circuits. These schedules were designed to include all possible varieties of c

Assemblies or chapters, held by rural deans and parochial clergy, within the precinct of every deanery; which at first were every three weeks, afterwards once a month, and subseque

In French law. A collection and code of the laws and ordinances promulgated by the kings of the Merovingian and Carlovingian dynasties. Any orderly and systematic collection or cod

In military law. The surrender of a fort or fortified town to a besieging army; the treaty or agreement between the commanding officers which embodies the terms and conditions on w

Head-fields; lands lying at the head or upper end of furrows etc. Capitulum est clericorum congregatio sub uno decano in ecclesia cathedral. A chapter is a congregation of clergy u

The first day of the year.

The castle or chief seat of a baron.

The beginning of the Lent fast, i.e., Ash Wednesday.

In old English law. A wolf's head. An outlawed felon was said to be caput lupinum, and might be knocked on the head, like a wolf.

The head or upper part of a place.

One of the regalia or ornaments of state belonging to the sovereigns of England, before whom it is carried at the coronation and other great selemnities. Caps of maintenance are al

In old records. A cap. Cappa honoris, the cap of honor. One of the solemnities or ceremonies of creating an earl or marquis.

A head-man; commander; commanding officer. The captain of a war-vessel is the officer first in command. In the United States navy, the rank of "captain" is intermediate between tha

In French law. The act of one who succeeds in controlling the will of another, so as to become master of it; nsed in an invidious sense. Zerega v. Percl-vsl, 46 La. Ann. 590, 15 So

A person who obtains a glft or legacy through artifice.

In old English law and practice. A taking or seizure; arrest; receiving; holding of court

In practice. That part of a legal instrument, as a commission, indictment, etc., which shows where, when, and by what authority it is taken, found or executed. State v. Sutton, 5 N

Prisoners of war. As in the goods of an enemy, so also in his person, a sort of qualified property may be acquired, by taking him a prisoner of war, at least till hls ransom be pai

In international law. One who takes or seizes property in time of war; one who takes the property of an enemy. In a stricter sense, one who takes a prize at sen. 2 Bl. Comm. 401; 1

In international law. The inking or wresting of property from one of two belligerents by the other. It occurs either on land or at sea. In the former case, the property captured is

A head; the head of a person; the whole person; the life of a person; one's personality; status; civll condition. At common law. A head. Caput comitatis, the head of the county; th

In old English law. Head or poll money or the payment of it Cowell; Blount

A dead head; dead; obsolete.

In old English law. The head of a port. The town to which a port belongs, and which gives the denomination to the port, and is the head of it. Hale de Jure Mar. pt. 2, (de portubus

In old English law. A kind of raft or boat. Spelman.

A measure of weight for diamonds and other precious stones, equivalent to three and one-sixth grains Troy, though divided by jewelers into four parts called "diamond grains." Also

In French law. An instrument of punishment, somewhat resembling a pillory. It sometimes signifies the punishment itself. Biret, Vocab.

A gaol; a prison.

In old English law. To load; to load a vessel; to freight

Loaded; freighted, as a ship.

Gaol-dues; prison-fees.

A prison or gaol. Strictly, a place of detention and safe-keeping, and not of punishment Co.. Litt 620.

In ecclesiastical law. a dignitary of the court of Rome, next in rank to the pope.

In criminal law. Small papers or pasteboards of an oblong or rectangular shape, on which are printed figures or points, used in playing certain games. See Estes v. State, 2 Humph.

As a legal term, this word means diligence, prudence, discretion, attentiveness, watchfulness, vigilance. It is the opposite of negligence or carelessness. There are three degrees

A prison should be used for keeping persons, not for punishing them. Co. Litt 26Oe,

A prison is ordained not for the sake of punishment, but of detention and guarding. Lofft, 119.

A term used in the old ecclesiastical law to denote a period of forty days.

In French law. Lack of assets ; insolvency. A proc$s-verbal de carouse is a document setting out that the huissier attended to issue execution upon a Judgment, but found nothing up

(spelled, also, Garreta and Corecta .) A cart; a cart-load.

A carter. Blount

In Spanish law. An incumbrance; a charge. White, New Recop. hi 2, tit. 13, c. 2, § 2.

In French commercial law. Cargo; lading.

In old English law. To charge. Spelman.

In mercantile law. The load or lading of a vessel; goods and merchandise put on board a ship to be carried in a certain port. The lading or freight of a ship; the goods, merchandis

In old English law. Carriage; the carrying of goods or other things for the king.

Dearth, scarcity, dearness. Cowell.

Llfe and annuity tables, compiled at Carlisle, England, about 1780. Used by actuaries, eta

In the Roman law. Literally, a verse or song. A formula or form of words used on various occasions, as of divorce. Tayl. Civil Law, 349.

Of the body; relating to the body; fleshly; sexual. —Carnal knowledge. The act of a man in having sexual bodily connection with a woman. Carnal knowledge and sexual intercourse hel

In old criminal law. Carnally. Carnaliter cognovit, carnally knew. Technical words in indictments for rape, and held essential. 1 Hale, P. C. 637639.

Coitus; copulation; sexual intercourse.