Phrase guide

ejusdem generis

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

phrase

Meaning 1

A canon of construction holding that when a general term follows a list of particular terms, the general term only applies to things similar to the particular terms. For example, in the list "sun, moon, and other large objects", the phrase "other large objects" only includes celestial bodies, not houses and elephants.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: law

Examples

  • I would submit to the court that in order to determine the legislature's intent of the final phrase we need to apply the interpretive maxim of ejusdem generis to the sentence that contains the sequence.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin ejusdem generis ("of the same kind").