Ejusdem generis
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 312 U.S. 86 - United States v. Gilliland · 1941Most cited · 824 citing opinions
The rule of 'ejusdem generis' is applied as an aid in ascertaining the intention of the Legislature, not to subvert it when ascertained.
How the Supreme Court has restated “Ejusdem generis”
Each Supreme Court definition of “Ejusdem generis,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “Ejusdem generis”
Court decisions citing the 8 opinions that defined “Ejusdem generis” — 2,531 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 8 definitions, chronological · 1869–1963
- ORIGINAL
The specification, which all of these sections contain, of arrests and imprisonments, or, as in the fourth section, of searches, seizures, arrests, and imprisonments, followed by more general words, justifies the inference that the other trespasses and wrongs mentioned are trespasses and wrongs ejusdem generis, or of the same nature as those which had been previously specified.
The settled rule that words which, standing alone, might have a wide and comprehensive import, will, when joined with those defining specific acts, be interpreted in their narrower sense, and understood to refer to things of the same nature as those described in the associated list, enumeration, or class.
a rule of construction, to be used as an aid in the ascertainment of the intention of the lawmakers, and not for the purpose of subverting such intention when ascertained
The rule of ejusdem generis, while firmly established, is only an instrumentality for ascertaining the correct meaning of words when there is uncertainty. Ordinarily, it limits general terms which follow specific ones to matters similar to those specified; but it may not be used to defeat the obvious purpose of legislation.
This rule...limits the 'other charge' to expenses similar in character to those incurred for transportation, delivery, insurance and installation.
The rule of ejusdem generis, while firmly established, is only an instrumentality for ascertaining the correct meaning of words when there is uncertainty. Ordinarily, it limits general terms which follow specific ones to matters similar to those specified; but it may not be used to defeat the obvious purpose of legislation.
the traditional rule of statutory construction which counsels against giving to general words a meaning totally unrelated to the more specific terms of a statute