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Quasi Affinity

The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922

The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary

In civil law

The affinity which exists between two persons, one of whom has been betrothed to the kindred of the other, but who have never been married. For example, my brother is betrothed to Maria, and afterwards, before marriage, he dies. There then exists between Maria and me a quasi affinity. The history of England furnishes an example of this kind. Catherine of Arragon was betrothed to the brother of Henry VIII. Afterwards, Henry married her, and under the pretense of this quasi affinity he repudiated her, because the marriage was incestuous.