In Contracts and Conveyances

A fiction of law whereby an act done at one time operates as if done at another time. 79 111. 467. An act so operating is said to do so by relation. All the several parts and ceremonies necessary to complete a conveyance shall be taken together as one act, and operate from the substantial part by relation. Thus a deed given by a sheriff, upon a previous sale on execution, relates back to, and, in judgment of law, is executed at the time of tjie sale. 79 111. 467. An entry in a United States land office on which a patent issues relates to the entry, and takes date with it. 21 How. 228. A deed not acknowledged until long after its execution has been held to take effect from its date, the acknowledgment operating as of that time by relation. 75 Mo. 613.

Defined under Rejoining Gratis in The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary.