Abut

To reach, to touch. In old law, the ends were said to abut, the sides to adjoin.

Cro. Jac. 184.

Gloss. Abuttare. In the modern law, to bound upon.

2 Chit. Pl. 660.

In Hughes v. R. Co., 130 N. Y. 14, 28 N. E. 765, an abutting lot was defined as a lot bounded on the side of a public street in the bed or soil of which the owner of the lot has no title, estate, interest, or private right except such as are incident to a lot so situated.

And see Abendroth v. R. Co., 122 N. Y. 1, 25 N. E. 496, 11 L. R. A. 634, 19 Am. St. Rep. 461.

Though the usual meaning of the word is that the things spoken of do actually adjoin, "bounding and abutting" have no such inflexible meaning as to require lots assessed or improved actually to touch the improvement; Cohen v. Cleveland, 43 Ohio St. 190, 1 N. E. 589; 1 Ex. D. 336; contra, Holt v. City Council, 127 Mass. 408. Bounding or abutting on a street will include the soil of a private road opening into the street; 7 Q. B. 183. Where a strip of ground from one side of a street is appropriated for the purpose of widening such street, the lots fronting on the opposite sides of the street at the part widened will be deemed to abut on the improvement, though the street intervenes between the abutting lots and the strip appropriated; Cincinnati v. Batsche, 52 Ohio St. 324, 40 N. E. 21.