Metus
Black's Law Dictionary · Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
Black's Law Dictionary
Lat. Fear; terror. In a technical sense, a reasonable and well-grounded apprehension of some great evil, such as death or mayhem, and not arising out of mere timidity, but such as might fall upon a man of courage. Fear must be of this description in order to amount to duress avoiding a contract. See Bract, lib.
2, c. 5; 1 Bl. Comm. 131; Calvin.