Words and phrases are construed according to the context and the approved usage of the language; but technical words and phrases, and such others as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law, or are defined in the succeeding section, are to be construed according to such peculiar and appropriate meaning or definition.
Cal. Civ. Code § 13
EFFECT OF THE 1872 CODES
Known as the The Civil Code
The act spans §§ 1–23 (29 sections).
Applied in 40 court decisions — leading case 59 Cal. 2d 128 - In Re De La O (1963)
Most recently applied in Austin v. Medicis (March 2018)
Enacted 1872.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.