Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
Law developed by judges, courts, and agency adjudicatory tribunals, through their decisions and opinions (also called case law) (as opposed to statutes promulgated by legislatures, and regulations promulgated by the executive branch).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Legal system mainly in England and its former colonies with a heavy emphasis on judge-made law, doctrines deduced by casuistry rather than from general principles, and law distributed among judicial decisions rather than codified statutes (as opposed to civil law).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Body of law and procedure administered in certain courts (known as law courts) in England and its former colonies characterized by a rigid system of writs, with a limited set of remedies (as opposed to equity or admiralty).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical, uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Law of general application throughout a country, province, or state as opposed to law having only a special or local application
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Qualifier: Scots law; Roman-Dutch law; Scots law; Roman-Dutch law
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
(civil law) a law established by following earlier judicial decisions
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: case law, precedent
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: civil law
noun
a system of jurisprudence based on judicial precedents rather than statutory laws
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: case law, precedent
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: law, jurisprudence
History
Inherited from Middle English comun lawe, comune lawe (“general law, common law”), from comun (“shared, universal”) + lawe (“law”), referring to the law's uniform nature throughout a jurisdiction. Compare Medieval Latin lex commūne, iūs commūne and Anglo-Norman commune lei.
Across languages
30 source translations are retained for this English entry.
