The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary

An old form of master.

In Roman law. The magesty or prerogative of the sovereign or state.

A term used of kings and emperors as a title of honor. It sometimes means power; as when we say, the majesty of the people. See Wolff. Inst. § 998.

One who has attained his full age, ' and has acquired all his civil rights; one who is no longer a minor; an adult. In Military Law. The officer next in rank above a captain.

The greater year; the bissextile year, consisting of 366 days. Bracton, fol. 359b.

See "Regalia." MAJORE POENA AFFECTUS QUAM legibus statuta est, non est infamis. One affected with a greater punishment than is provided by law is not infamous. 4 Inst. 66.

The greater includes the less. 19 Viner, Abr. 379.

In Roman Law and Genealogical Tables. The male ascendants beyond the sixth degree. In Old English Law. Greater persons; persons of higher condition or estate.

In military law. An of Hcer next in rank above a brigadier general. He commands a division consisting of several brigades, or even an army. MAJOR HAEREDITAS VENIT UNICUIque nostrum

The lesser is included in the greater sum. 2 Kent, Comm. 618; Story, Ag. § 172.

The state or condition of a person who has arrived at full age. He is then said to be a "major," in opposition to The greater number; more than all the opponents; more than half of

In old practice. Greater right, or more right. A plea in the old real actions. 1 Reeve, Hist. Eng. Law, 476. Mor jus jus merum, more mere right. Bracton, fol. 31.

To perform or execute; as, to make his law is to perform that which a man had bound himself to do; that is, to clear himself of an action commenced against him, by his oath and the

A term applied to one who makes a promissory note, and promises to pay it when due. He who makes a bill of exchange is called the "drawer;" and frequently in common parlance and in

A phrase used to denote the act of a person who wages his law. Bac. Abr, "Wager of Law." MALA (Lat.) Bad. MALA FIDES (Lat.) Bad faith. It is opposed to bona fides, good faith. MALA

That which is wrong in itself, without regard to statutory prohibitfcn, because of its palpable and proximate injury to the public peace, order, or morals. A distinction was former

In old English law. A thief.

Malpractice {q. v.)

That which is wrong only because it is prohibited by statute. 1 Bl. Comm. 57. See "Mala in Se."

A hill where the people assembled at a court, like the English assizes, which by the Scotch and Irish were called "parley hills." Du Cange.

Of the masculine sex; of the sex that begets young; the sex opposed to the female.

In old English law. Unfavorably thought of; in bad repute or credit. Bracton, fols. 116, 154.

(L. Fr.) Bad character. Stat. Westm. 1, c. 12. MALEDICTA EXPOSITIO QUAE CORrumpit textum. It is a cursed construction which corrupts the text. 2 Coke, 24; 4 Coke, 35; 11 Coke, 34;

or MALISON. A curse. Bailey.

The unjust performance of some act which the party had no right, or which he had contracted not, to do. 33 Com. 115. It differs from misfeasance and nonfeasance (q. v.) See 1 Chit.

In Spanish law. Offense. White, New Eecop. bk. 2, tit. 19, c. 1, § 1.

In Crimes. In its broadest legal sense, the term is substantially synonymous with "criminal intent," and means the state of mind of a person, irrespective of his motive, whenever h

Wicked purpose. These words in the description of murder do not imply deliberation, or the lapse of considerable time between the malicious intent to take and the actual execution

Malice aforethought {q. V.)

Done with malice (g. v.)

A wanton arrest made without probable cause by a regular process and proceeding. See "Malicious Prosecution."

The wanton or reckless destruction of property. The word "malicious" is not sufficiently defined as the willfully doing of any act prohibited by law, and for which the defendant ha

A judicial proceeding instituted without probable cause (97 U. S. 642; 59 Ind. 500), and with malicious intent (7 111. App. 181; 30 N. Y. 625). While malice may be inferred by the

Malice aforethought. 4 Bl. Gomm. 198.

Malice supplies age. Dyer, 104; 1 Bl. Comm. 464; 4 Bl. Comm. 22, 23, 312; Broom, Leg. Max. (3d London Ed.) 284. See "Malice." MALITIIS HOMINUM EST OBVIANdum. The wicked or maliciou

In old European law. A court of the higher kind (placitum majus), in which the more important business of the county was dispatched by the count or earl (comei). Spelman. A public

In an evil sense.

Bad or unskillful practice in a physician or other professional person, whereby the health of the patient is injured. Physicians and surgeons impliedly contract that they are reaso

Synonymous with bad treatment. 2 Allen (Mass.) 143.

or MALT SCOT. In English law. An excise duty on malt.

An act wrong In itself. The plural form is mala in se (q. v.)

sed deficientem causam. Evil has not an efficient, but a deficient, cause. 3 Inst. Proeme.

Evil is not presumed. 4 Coke, 72; Branch, Princ.

A thing wrong only because prohibited by law. The plural form is mala prohibita (q. v.)

The more common the evil, the worse. Branch, Princ. MALUM VENIENDl (Pr. mal de venue.) Misfortune or sickness, or accident happening to a party on his way to court. Bract, fol. 339

An evil custom is to be abolished. Co. Litt. 141; Broom, Leg. Max. (3d London Ed.) 827; Litt. § 212; 5 Q. B. 701; 12 Q. B. 845; 2 Myline & K. 449.

Ill will. In some ancient records, this word signifies malicious practices, or crimes and misdemeanors.

Such as used to pack juries, by the nomination of either party in a cause, or other practice. Art. Sup. Chart, c. x. Cowell.

In French law. This word is applied to all punishable faults committed in the exercise of an office, such as corruptions, exactions, extortions, and larceny. Merlin, Repert.

A human being; a person of the male sex; a male of the human species above the age of puberty, as distinguished from a woman or a boy. 106 Wis. 346. In its most extended sen Se, th

A person appointed or elected to manage the affairs of another. A term applied to those officers of a corporation who are authorized to manage its affairs. 1 Bouv. Inst, note 190;

The managing agemt of a corporation is one exercising general powers and having general supervision over its affairs. 16 Wis. 220.

The managing ovmer of a ship is one of several coowners, to whom the others, or those of them who join in the adventure, have delegated the management of the ship. He has authority

A mansion house or dwelling place. Cowell.

A compensation paid the relations of a murdered man by the murderer or his friends.

In Roman law. A purchaser; one who took the articles sold in his hand (qui manu cepit); a formality observed in certain sales; a farmer of the public taxes. Calv. Lex.; Adams, Rom.

A bribe; a present from the donor's own hand.

In the Roman law. To sell, alienate, or make over to another; to sell with certain formalities. To sell a person; one of the forms observed in the process of emancipation. MANCIPAT

The power acquired over a freeman by the mancipatio. To form a clear conception of the true import of the word in the Roman jurisprudence, it is necessary to advert to the four dis

In Spanish law. An obligation is said to be m,aneomunal when one person assumes the contract or debt of another, and makes himself liable to pay or fulfill it. Schmidt, Civ, Law, 1

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

In practice. This is a high state, in the name of the sovereignty, directed to any natural person, corporation, or inferior court of judicature within its jurisdiction, requiring t

In 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 to do some act for him. Inst.

The bailor in a contract of mandate. MANDATA LICITA STRICTAM RECIPIunt Interpretationem, sed illicita latam et extensam. Lawful commands receive a strict interpretation, but unlawf

In French law. A mandatary. MANDATARIUS TERMINOS SIBI POSItos transgredi non potest. A mandatary cannot exceed the bounds of his authority. Jenk. Cent. Cas. 53.

Or MANDATARIUS. One who undertakes to perform a mandate. Jones, Bailm. 53.

In Practice. A judicial command or precept issued by a court or magistrate, directing the proper officer to enforce a judgment, sentence, or decree. Commonly applied to the precept

The person who consigns property to another under a contract of mandate. Story, Bailm. § 138.

Containing a command; peremptory. As applied to statutes, a provision is mandatory if proceedings in disregard of it are absolutely void. 1 Duer (N. Y.) 79.

One which commands the doing of some aifirmative act by the person to whom it is directed. See 14 Abb. Pr. (N. Y.) 106; 25 Fed. 654; High, Inj. i 478.

In the civil law. Mandate (g. V.) MANDATUM NISI GRATUITUM NULlum est. Unless a mandate is gratuitous, it is not a mandate. Dig. 17. 1. 1. 4; Inst. 3, 27; 1 Bouv. Inst, note 1070. M

In Spanish law. Manner or mode. Las Partidas, pt. 4, tit. 4, lib. 2.

SEcundum excellentiam, sedes magna, fixa, e't stabilis. A manor is so called from manendo, according to its excellence, a seat, great, fixed, and firm. Co. Litt. 58.

In feudal law. A term denoting the ceremony of doing homage by the vassal to his lord. The formula used was devenio vester homo, I become your man. 2 Bl. Comm. 54. See "Homage."

In medical jurisprudence. This is the most common of all the forms of recent insanity, and consists of one or both of the following conditions, viz., intellectual aberration, and m

See "Delirium Tremens."

——In Commercial Law. A written instrument containing a true account of the cargo of a ship or a commercial vessel. As to the requirements of the United States laws in respect to ma

A solemn declaration, by the constituted authorities of a nation, which contains the reasons for its public acts towards another. On the declaration of war, a manifesto is usually

Persons of the male sex; the human species. St. 25 Hen. VIII., c. 6, makes it felony to commit sodomy with mankind or beast. Females as well as males are included under the term "m

Manner has a broader meaning than "method." The word is derived from the Latin, manus, the hand, and in a wider sense embraces both method and mode. 20 111. App. 326.

In pleading. After traversing any allegation in pleading, it is usual to say, "in manner and form as he has in his declaration in that behalf alleged," which is as much as to inclu

This word is derived from the French manoir, and signifies a house, residence, or habitation. At present its meaning is more enlarged, and includes not only a dwelling house, but a

or MANRED. In Scotch law. The service 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 hims

Habitation; fa,rm and land. Spelman. Parsonage or vicarage house. Paed. Airt. 431; Jacob. So in Scotland. Bell, Diet.

A bastard. Cowell.

Lat. [from manere, to stay.] In old European law. An inn; a place of entertainment and accommodation for travelers. Spelman. In old English law. A dwelling; a mansion; which might

Any house of dwelling, in the law of burglary, etc. 3 Inst. 64. The term "mansion house," in its common sense, not only includes the dwelling house, but also all the buildings with

Manslaughter is homicide committed without excuse or justification, and without malice aforethought, expressed or implied. 1 Hawk. P. C. c. 30, §§ 2, 3; Steph. Dig. Crim. Law, art.

Tame. See "Animals."

The manor house. MANTHEOFF (Saxon). A horse thief. MANU BREVI (Lat.) In civil law. With a short hand. A term used in the civil law,

The term manual labor, in its ordinary and usual meaning and acceptation, means labor performed by and with the hand or hands, and implies the ability for such sustained exercise a

Lat. [from manus, hand, and capere, to take.] In old law and practice. To become surety; to offer one's self as a surety to redeem another from imprisonment, and to have him in cou

A writ which lay to admit to bail one taken on suspicion of felony, and who could not be admitted to bail by the sheriff.

Mainpernors (q. v.)

Primarily, something made by hand as distinguished from a natural growth, but as machinery has largely supplanted this primitive method the word is now ordinarily used to denote an

Such as are engaged in "the production of some article, thing, or object, by skill or labor, out of raw material, or from matter which has already been subjected to natural forces.

With strong hand. Used in writs of trespass.

In civil law. With a long hand; indirectly or circuitously. Calv. Lex.

The act of releasing from the power of another; the act of giving liberty to a slave. In the Roman Law. It was a generic expression, equally applicable to the enfranchisement from