Legal Terminology Definitions Latin Terms

1 Legal Terminology DefinitionsLatin Terms : a fortiori - With stronger reasona priori - From the cause to the effectab initio - From the beginningactiones in personam - Personal actionsad curiam - Before a court; to courtad damnum clause - To the damage, clause in a complaint stating monetary lossad faciendum - To doad hoc - For this purpose or occasionad litem - For this suit or litigationad rem - To the thing at handad valorem - According to the valueadversus - Againstaggregatio menium - Contractual meeting of the mindsalias dictus - An assumed namealibi - In another place, elsewherealiunde - From another place, from without (as in evidence outside the document)alter ego - The other selfamicus curiae - friend of the court briefanimo - With intention, disposition, design or willanimus - Mind or intentionante litem motam - before the suit or before litigation is filedarguendo - In the course of an argumentassumpsit - He undertook or promisedbona fide - Good faithcapias - Take, arrestcaptia - Persons, or headscausa mortis - By reason of deathcaveat - Beware, a warningcaveat emptor - Let the buyer beware certiorari - send the pleadings up , indicating a discretionary review processCestui - BeneficiariesCestui que trust - Beneficiaries of a trustcirca - In the area of.

2 About or concerningcompos mentis - Of sound mindconsortium - The conjugal fellowship of husband and wifecontra - Againstcoram nobis - Before us ourselvescorpus - Bodycorpus delicti - Body of the offensecum testamento annexo - With the will annexed datum - Information or the thing givende facto - In fact, in deed or actuallyde jure - Of right, lawfulde novo - Anew or afreshde son tort - Of his own wrongdies non - Not a dayduces tecum - bring with youdum bene se gesserit - While he shall conduct himself, during good behaviore converso - Conversely or on the other handen banc - All judges present on the bench to hear a caseeo instanti - Upon the instanterratum - Erroret alii - And otherset sequentia - And as followset ux - And wifeet vir - And husbandex delicto - Arising from a tortex gratia - As a matter of favorex officio - From office, by virtue of his officeex parte - By or for one party onlyex post facto - After the factfacto - In fact, in or by the lawfelonice - Feloniouslyfiat - Let it be done, a short order that a thing be donefieri - To be made up.

3 To becomefieri facias - Writ directing a sheriff to reduce a judgment debtor s property to moneyflagrante delicto - In the very act of committing the crimeforum non conveniens - Power to decline jurisdiction over a case and have it tried elsewheregravis - Serious, of importancehabeas corpus - Writ commanded to the custodian of a person to produce the body nowhabendum clause - The part of a deed beginning to have and to hold and defining ownershiphonorarium - Fee, gift or compensation from gratitudeidem - The same as above (id.)idem sonans - To have the same sound, as in names sounding alike but spelled differentlyin curia - In courtin esse - In being, existencein forma pauperis - Permission given to a poor person to sue without liability for court costsinfra - Beneath; belowin limine - At the beginning; At the thresholdin loco parentis - In place of the parentin pari delicto - In equal faultin personam - Personally, or against the personin praesenti - At once; nowin re - In the matterin rem - A proceeding against a thingin specie - In the same or in similar forminstanter - Immediatelyinter alia, inter alios - Among other things or between other personsinter se - Among themselvesinter vivos - Between the living; or from one person to anotherin toto - In the whole; completelyin transitu - In transitintra - Within.

4 Insideipse dixit - He himself said (it), as an assertion made but not provedipso facto - By the fact itselfita est - so it isjura personarum - Right of a person, rights of personsjura rerum - Rights of thingsjure divino - By divine rightsjure uxoris - In his wife s rightjus - Law or rightjus ad rem - A right to a thingjus commune - The common law or common rightjus gentium - The law of nations or international lawjust habendi - The right to have a thing and retain the profitsjus tertii - The right of a third partylevari facias - Cause to be levied, a writ of executionlex - Lawlex loci - The law of the place where the cause of action aroselis pendens - Litigation pendinglocus delicti - The place of the crimelocus sigilli - The place for the sealmala - Badmala fides - Bad faithmala in se - An act that is morally wrongmala praxis - Malpracticemala prohibita - An act declared as criminal by statutemala animo - Acting with evil intentmandamus - A writ used to compel an official to perform a required actmanu forti - Forcible entrymens rea - Guilty mindnihil dicit - He says nothingnil - Nothingnil debet - He owes nothingnisi prius - Distinguishing the trial court from the appellate courtnolle prosequi - Unwilling to prosecutenolo contendere - I will not contest it ; a criminal pleanon - Notnon assumpsit - Plea in defense.

5 That he did not promisenon compos mentis - Not of sound mind non est factum - It is not his deed non obstante - Notwithstandingnon sequitur - It does not follow nota bene - Note well; take noticenudum pactum - A bare agreement lacking considerationnul tort - No wrong done nulla bona - No good nunc pro tunc - Now for then obiter dictum - A remark made by a court that is not central to a main issue in the probandi - Burden of Proofopus - Work or laborore tenus - By word of mouthpari delicto - In equal faultpari passu - By equal progresspater familias - Father of the familypeculium - Private propertypendens - Pending pendente lite - Pending the suit, during litigationper annum - Annual, by the yearper capita - By the head, equally sharedper contra - In opposition per curiam - By the court per diem - By the dayper se - Taken aloneper stirpes - By the roots or stock (for purposes of inheritance)

6 Post - After, laterpost-factum - After the factpost-obit - Taking effect after deathpraecipe - A Writ commanding a person to do some act or show cause to be excused from actingprima facie - At first sight, on the face of itpro bono - For the good Describes services performed free of chargepro forma - As a matter of form Describing statements or conclusions based on assumed factspro hac vice - For this occasion pro rata - A distribution according to the rate or proportionpro se - Appearing for oneself; personallypro tanto - For so much, to that extentpro tempore - For the time being, temporarilyprochein ami - Next friend publici juris - Of public rightpur autre vie - For or during the life of anotherquaere - A question or queryquaerens - The plaintiffquantum - How much, the amountquare - Wherefore quasi - As if, as if it were truequid pro quo - Something for something quo warranto - By what right or authority res - the thing, object or subject matterres gestae - Things done; an excited utteranceres ipsa loquitur - The thing speaks for itself res judicita - A thing or matter adjudged respondeat superior - Let the master answer scienter - Knowledgescilicet - To wit.

7 Or namely scintilla - A spark scire facias - Give noticesecundum - According tose defendendo - In self defense semper - Alwaysseriatim - Severally, separatelysic - Used to indicate an error in original quoted materialsigillum - A sealsine - Without sine die - Without a day assigned for a future meeting sine qua non - An indispensable condition or partstare decisisstatus quo - Present state sua sponte - Voluntarilysub nomine - Under the name ofsub silentio - Without notice being takensui generis - Of its own kind or classsui juris - Of his own rightsupersedeas - Supersedingsupra - Above, cited prior in the documenttenere - To hold, to keeptermininus a quo - The starting pointultra - Beyondultra vires - Without powervenire facias - That you cause to come versus - Againstvidelicet - It is easy to see vi et armis - By force and arms vis-a-vis - One who is face to face with anothervivos - Livingvoir dire - To speak the truth Legal Terms .

8 Abatement - Reduction, terminationabrogation - Annulment of a former law by a legislative body, constitutional authority or usageacceptance - Consent to abide by the Terms of an offeraccession - That which increases the size or value of propertyaccommodation - Arrangement made as a favor to another, not for considerationacknowledgment - Admission, affirmation, or declarationacquittal - Release or discharge of an obligationademption - Satisfaction of a legacy by gift prior to testator s deathadhesion contract - Standard contract form which a party with little bargaining power must acceptadjudication - Judgment or decision of a courtadministrative law - Body of law promulgated by an administrative agencyadverse possession - Acquiring title to real estate by hostile possessionaffiant - One who makes or swears to the truth of an affidavit affidavit - Sworn written statementaffirmative defense - an allegation of a responsive pleading negating the allegations in a complaintagent - A person authorized to act for another with the other s businessagreement - A meeting of the mindsallegation - Assertion made but not provedamortization - The gradual extinction

9 Of a monetary obligation by periodic payments amnesty - Sovereign forgetfulness of past acts, usually available for a limited timeancillary - Auxiliary, supplemental, subordinateannotation - A remark, note or commentary intended to illustrate or explainannul - Cancel, make void or destroyanswer - Written pleading by which a defendant responds to plaintiff s complaintantitrust laws - Federal and state laws to prevent restraint of trade or price fixingappeal - Review by a higher courtappellant - Party who brings / files an appealappellee - Party who defends an appealappraisal - Valuation or estimate of property valuearbitration - the investigation and determination of a dispute by a neutral decision-makerarraignment - Criminal hearing where the accused is formally charged and pleasassault - Threat of imminent bodily harmasset - Property owned by an estateassignment - Transfer any right.

10 Title or interest to anotherattestation - The act of witnessing the signing of a documentassumption of the risk - Bar to recovery where a party voluntarily exposes themselves to a riskattachment - Pre-judgment seizure of property based upon court orderattest - Certify or affirm to be true or genuineattorney-in-fact - One appointed to act in specific matters described in a power of attorneyaver - Assert, allege or claimbailment - Delivery of personal property to another to be held for a particular personbeneficiary - One who benefits from the act of anotherbequest - Gift of personal property by willbreach - The unexcused failure to perform when performance is duebrief - A written argument of counselcapacity - Having Legal authority or mental abilitycaption - Part of a pleading stating the name of the court, parties, case number, and pleading titlecause of action - Facts giving rise to a Legal remedy.