This page gathers the 3,187 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Law”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 21 of 32: from “on the merits” to “penal notice”.
- on the merits adv Referring to a judgment, decision, or ruling of a court whose decision rests upon the law as it applies to the particular evidence and…
- on the stand prep_phrase Testifying at a trial; speaking as a witness during a court case.
- ona'ah noun The sin of knowingly selling goods for more than they are worth or buying them for less than they are worth.
- onus noun Burden of proof, onus probandi.
- onus probandi noun The burden of proof, the onus; the duty of a party in a legal proceeding to prove an assertion of fact; it includes both the burden of…
- op. noun Abbreviation of opinion.
- open adj Written or sent with the intention that it may made public or referred to at any trial, rather than by way of confidential private…
- open and notorious adj A requisite condition of adverse possession stipulating that the disseisor's occupation of the property must be visible and provide…
- open texture noun The phenomenon that legal rules are a function of language and are thus subject to attempts at definition of vague or interpretative terms.
- open-textured adj subject to constant attempts at ascribing a meaning, due to a legal rule's vagueness or multiple interpretations
- opening argument noun In adversarial legal systems, a statement made by either party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which…
- opening speech noun In adversarial legal systems, a statement made by either party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which…
- opening statement noun In adversarial legal systems, a statement made by a party at the beginning of a trial or comparable factfinding proceeding, in which that…
- operative clause noun A clause (of a judgment, order, resolution, etc.) which requires anything to be done or not to be done.
- opinion noun A judicial opinion delivered by an Advocate General to the European Court of Justice where he or she proposes a legal solution to the cases…
- opposition noun In United States intellectual property law, a proceeding in which an interested party seeks to prevent the registration of a trademark or…
- option noun A contract giving the holder the right to buy or sell an asset at a set strike price; can apply to financial market transactions, or to…
- oral argument noun A portion of a legal proceeding wherein the attorneys present their argument by speaking directly to the judge and answering the judge's…
- order-in-council noun In some Commonwealth parliamentary systems, a legally-enforceable decree by the executive branch of a government.
- ordinary noun A person having immediate jurisdiction in a given case of ecclesiastical law, such as the bishop within a diocese.
- organic law noun A law or system of laws which forms the foundation of a government, corporation or other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a…
- original jurisdiction noun In common law legal systems, the power of a court to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.
- orphan drug noun A drug as defined under the Orphan Drug Act (1983).
- orse adv otherwise.
- ouster noun Action by a cotenant that prevents another cotenant from enjoying the use of jointly owned property.
- ouster le main noun A delivery of lands out of the hands of a guardian, or out of the king's hands, or a judgement given for that purpose.
- outbranch noun Something that results from a law, ruling, or record, but which is separate from that law, ruling, etc.
- outcourt adj Occurring outside the courtroom; adjudicated outside of a trial.
- outfangthief noun A privilege of some feudal lords permitting them to execute summary judgment upon thieves (particularly their own tenants) captured outside…
- outlawry noun A declaration that an individual cannot benefit from the protection of law in a jurisdiction.
- outroper noun An auctioneer.
- outside employment noun Any form of employment or business relationship involving the provision of paid or unpaid personal services.
- outside job noun A crime or other illicit action committed by an individual not connected or associated with the premises or organization in which it took…
- over and above adv more than is required e.g. by a contract.
- over the transom prep_phrase Meeting a deadline by delivery after the day of the deadline but before opening of business the following business day.
- overage noun Any additional sums payable following the purchase of land, calculated on a prearranged basis, on the occurrence of certain specified…
- overbreadth noun The excessive broadness of a statute that, in proscribing unprotected activity, also proscribes protected activity.
- overheight noun An excess of height.
- overlength noun An excess of length.
- overreach verb To defeat or override a person's interest in property; (UK, specifically) of a holder of the legal title of real property: by mortgaging or…
- overrule verb To dismiss or throw out (a protest or objection) at a court.
- oversail noun The projection of something from a structure.
- overseas territory noun A more specific status legally defined under a constitution for one or more of the above territories.
- overturn verb To reverse (a decision); to overrule or rescind.
- overweight noun An excess of weight.
- overwidth noun An excess of width.
- oyer noun A hearing in a civil case which is based on the content of a document, in which the plaintiff is required to produce the document.
- oyer and terminer noun A commission under which a court is empowered to hear and determine a criminal case.
- pain and suffering noun A species of damages that one may recover for physical or mental pain that results from a wrong done.
- Palko test noun A judicial test as to whether a US state is bound by the United States Bill of Rights in relation to a specific right claimed by the…
- palliatory adj extenuating
- palm tree justice noun A flexible, discretionary approach to legal decision making that prioritizes fairness in specific circumstances over strict adherence to…
- pandect noun Usually in the plural form Pandects: a compendium or digest of writings on Roman law divided in 50 books, compiled in the 6th century C.E.…
- panel noun A document containing the names of persons summoned as jurors by the sheriff.
- paper book noun A document prepared in English legal practice containing a record or summary of the pleadings.
- paper tripping noun A form of identity theft in which a person illicitly obtains a new identity, usually by assuming the identity of a deceased person.
- papering noun A technique of boycotting a judge by the Public Defender's Office by filing a request for a different judge in every case assigned to this…
- par delictum phrase The par delictum rule prescribes that a party should not obtain satisfaction from a court of law with where his own conduct is wrongful.
- parade of horribles noun Any rhetorical device presenting a series of terrible results that notionally might follow from an act, instead of confining the argument…
- parajudicial adj Of or relating to non-judicial personnel who assist judges in carrying out their function, such as law clerks.
- paralegal noun One who assists a lawyer in routine legal work, but who is without qualified status as a solicitor or barrister (England and Wales)…
- parallel citation noun In legal writing, a portion of a citation indicating an additional publication of the document cited.
- parallelism noun In antitrust law, the practice of competitors of raising prices by roughly the same amount at roughly the same time, without engaging in a…
- paramount title noun A claim to the title of a property, which is superior and stronger in comparison to all other claims.
- paraphernal adj Of or pertaining to a woman's parapherna
- parasitic adj Of emotional damages: accompanying a physical or pecuniary injury.
- parawise adj Of a reply: prepared in paragraphs.
- pardon noun An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an…
- parens patriae noun The government authority to act as the parent of a child or individual to protect them from abusive or negligent parents, legal guardian…
- parent trigger noun A legal maneuver through which parents can change the administration of a poorly performing public school, most notably by transforming it…
- parentela noun An ancestor and all of his or her descendants; all descendants of a person's ancestors of a certain degree.
- pareve adj Of food: that has no meat or milk in any form as an ingredient.
- pari passu adv At an equal rate.
- parol adj Verbal, oral, informal.
- parole verb To release (a prisoner) on the understanding that s/he checks in regularly and obeys the law.
- particular adj Containing a part only; limited.
- partition noun The severance of common or undivided interests, particularly in real estate. It may be effected by consent of parties, or by compulsion of…
- party noun A person or group of people constituting one side in a legal proceeding, such as in a legal action or a contract.
- party and party costs noun The reasonable and necessary costs incurred by a party to a lawsuit, often in accordance with a scale of costs published by the court and…
- party of the first part noun The party to a legal dispute who first raised a complaint in a court.
- party of the second part noun The party to a legal dispute against whom a complaint was initially raised in a court.
- pass verb To be conveyed or transferred by will, deed, or other instrument of conveyance.
- pass the bar verb To be formally referred for trial from a lower court to a higher one.
- passing noun The act of approving a bill etc.
- patent noun An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
- patent law noun The body of intellectual property law that grants an inventor exclusive rights for a limited time, in order to protect their new, useful…
- patent pool noun A consortium of companies which agree to crosslicense patents relating to a particular technology, often to avoid the problem of blocking…
- patent thicket noun A group of patents in a field of technology which collectively impede a party from commercializing its own patents or products in that…
- patent troll noun A company, person, etc., that owns and enforces patents in an aggressive and opportunistic manner, often with no intention of producing…
- patent trolling noun The practice of owning and enforcing patents in an aggressive and opportunistic manner, often with no intention of marketing or promoting…
- paternal custody noun An arrangement whereby only the father has physical and legal custody of a child while the mother has visitation rights. (This entry is a…
- paternity noun Legal acknowledgement of a man's fatherhood of a child.
- patron noun A protector of a dependent, especially a master who had freed a slave but still retained some paternal rights.
- patronage noun The right of presentation to church or ecclesiastical benefice; advowson.
- pawnee noun One or to whom a pledge is delivered as security one who takes anything in pawn.
- pay-for-delay noun A kind of agreement in which the patentholder pays an alleged infringer to stop the alleged infringing activity for some period of time and…
- peculation noun The wrongful appropriation or embezzlement of shared or public property, usually by a person entrusted with the guardianship of that…
- peculium noun The savings of a son or a slave, with the father's or master's consent; a little property or stock of one's own.
- peine forte et dure noun Crushing, an old form of punishment (torture) in which the prisoner's body was pressed with heavy weights.
- penal notice noun A warning endorsed on a court order, notifying the recipient that they are liable to committal to prison for breach of the order.