Latin terms

Latin	English
a fortiori	with stronger reason
a priori	from what goes before; from the cause to the effect
ab initio	from the beginning
actiones in personam	personal actions
ad curiam	before the court, to the court
ad damnum clause	to the damage, clause of complaint which states plaintiff's monetary loss
ad faciendum	to do
ad hoc	for this purpose, for this occasion
ad litem	for the suit; for the litigation
ad rem	to the thing at hand
ad valorem	according to the value (a type of tax, for example)
adversus	against (defendant vs. plaintiff)
aggregatio menium	meeting of minds (relates to formation of contracts)
alias dictus	otherwise called, also known as (as in an assumed name)
alibi	in another place, elsewhere
aliunde	from another place, from without (as in evidence outside the document)
alter ego	the other self
amicus curiae	friend of the court (a type of brief filed with an appellate court)
animo	with intention, disposition, design, will
animus	mind, intention
ante litem motam	before suit brought, before litigation is filed
arguendo	in the course of the argument, for the sake of argument
assumpsit	he undertook, he promised
bona fide	good faith
capias	take, arrest
capita	persons, heads
causa mortis	by reason of death
caveat	beware, a warning
caveat emptor	let the buyer beware
certiorari	send the pleadings up (from an inferior court to a superior court)
cestui	beneficiaries (pronounced "setty")
cestui que trust	beneficiaries of the trust
circa	in the area of, about, concerning
compos mentis	of sound mind
consortium	union of lots or chances; conjugal fellowship of husband and wife.
contra	against
coram nobis	before us ourselves
corpus	body
corpus delicti	body of the offense; essence of the crime
cum testamento annexo	with the will annexed
datum	a thing given; information; a date
de facto	in fact, in deed, actually
de jure	of right, lawful
de novo	anew, afresh
de son tort	of his own wrong
dies non	not a day
duces tecum	bring with you (a subpoena whereby a person must appear and bring records)
dum bene se gesserit	while he shall conduct himself, during good behavior
e converso	conversely, on the other hand
en banc	in the bench, all judges present
eo instanti	upon the instant
erratum	error
et alii	and others (as in Smith, et al. v. Jones)
et sequentia	and as follows (et. seq.)
et ux	and wife
et vir	and husband
ex delicto	arising from a tort
ex gratia	as a matter of favor
ex officio	from office, by virtue of his office
ex parte	one side only, by or for one party only
ex post facto	after the fact
facto	in fact, in or by the law
felonice	feloniously
fiat	let it be done, a short order that a thing be done
fieri	to be made up, to become
fieri facias	cause to be made (writ directing sheriff to reduce judgment debtor's property to money or sell it for the amount of the judgment).
flagrante delicto	in the very act of committing the crime
forum non conveniens	discretionary power of a court to decline jurisdiction over a case when the court believes it should be tried elsewhere for convenience of the parties and witnesses.
gravis	serious, of importance
habeas corpus	you have the body (writ directed to custodian of a person, commanding custodian to produce such person).
habendum clause	that part of deed which begins "to have and to hold"; defines extent of ownership.
honorarium	honorary fee or gift; compensation from gratitude.
idem	the same as above (id.)
idem sonans	having the same sound (as names sounding alike but spelled differently).
in curia	in court
in esse	in being, existence
in forma pauperis	permission given to a poor person to sue without liability for court costs
infra	beneath; below
in limine	at the beginning; threshold
in loco parentis	in place of a parent, once charged with a parent's rights and obligations.
in pari delicto	in equal fault
in personam	personally, against the person
in praesenti	at once; now
in re	in the matter
in rem	proceedings against a thing (a bank account or real estate) distinguished from those against a person.
in specie	in the same or in similar form
instanter	immediately
inter alia	among other things, between other persons
inter se	among themselves
inter vivos	between the living, from one person to another
in toto	in the whole, completely
in transitu	in transit
intra	within, inside
ipse dixit	he himself said it, as an assertion made but not proved
ipso facto	by the fact itself
ita est	so it is
jura personarum	right of a person, rights of persons
jura rerum	rights of things
jure divino	by divine right
jure uxoris	in his wife's right
jus	law; right; laws collectively
jus ad rem	a right to a thing
jus commune	the common law, the common right
jus gentium	the law of nations, international law
just habendi	the right to have a thing
jus tertii	the right of a third party; the rights of another person
levari facias	cause to be levied, a writ of execution
lex	law
lex loci	law of the place where the cause of action arose
lis pendens	litigation pending
locus delicti	the place of the crime or of the tort
locus sigilli	the place for the seal
mala	bad
mala fides	bad faith
mala in se	wrong in itself, an act which is morally wrong
mala praxis	malpractice
mala prohibita	acts declared criminal by statute, though not wrong in themselves
malo animo	with evil intent
mandamus	we command, a writ used to compel an official to perform an act which she is required to perform
manu forti	with a strong hand, forcible entry
mens rea	guilty mind, most crimes require the element of intent
nihil dicit	he says nothing, as in a default judgment against a defendant who does not raise a defense in the action
nil	nothing; of no account
nil debet	he owes nothing
nisi prius	unless before (used to distinguish the court where trial was held from the appellate court)
nolle prosequi	unwilling to prosecute a crime, prosecutor's discretion not to file charges in a particular case
nolo contendere	I will not contest it
non	not
non assumpsit	plea in defense; that he did not promise
non compos mentis	not of sound mind
non est factum	it is not his deed
non obstante	notwithstanding
non sequitur	it does not follow
nota bene (N.B.)	note well; take notice
nudum pactum	nude pact, bare agreement which lacks the consideration to form a valid contract
nul tort	no wrong done
nulla bona	no goods (wording used on the return of a writ fieri facias)
nunc pro tunc	now for then, as in an order to correct clerical error in a previous order
obiter dictum	remark which is not central to the main issue
onus probandi	the burden of proof
opus	work or labor
ore tenus	by word of mouth, orally, as in an oral motion made during trial
pari delicto	in equal guilt
pari passu	by equal progress, ratably, equitably, without preference
pater familias	father of the family
peculium	private property
pendens	pending
pendente lite	pending the suit, during litigation
per annum	annual, by the year
per capita	by the head, equally shared
per contra	in opposition
per curiam	by the court
per diem	by the day
per se	by itself, taken alone
per stirpes	by representation, by the roots or stocks for purposes of inheritance
post	after, later
post-factum	after the fact, after the even
post-obit	to take effect after death
praecipe	writ commanding a person to do some act or to appear and show cause why she should not do so; order to clerk of court to issue a summons or execution on judgment already rendered
prima facie	at first sight, on the face of it
pro bono	free of charge, without cost
pro forma	as a matter of form
pro hac vice	for this occasion
pro rata	according to the rate or proportion
pro se	appearing for oneself; personally
pro tanto	for so much, to that extent
pro tempore	for the time being, temporarily
prochein ami	next friend
publici juris	of public right
pur autre vie	for or during the life of another
quaere	question, doubt
quantum	how much, the amount
quare	wherefore
quare clausum fregit	breaking the close, trespass
quasi	as if, as if it were
quid pro quo	what for what, something for something (as in consideration for a contract)
quo warranto	by what right or authority
res	thing, object, subject matter
res gestae	things done, excited utterance
res ipsa loquitur	the thing speaks for itself
res judicata	a thing (matter) adjudged
respondeat superior	let the master answer
scienter	knowledge, awareness
scilicet	to wit, that is to say, namely (SS or ss)
scintilla	a spark, the least particle
scire facias	cause to know, give notice (writ used to revive a judgment that has expired or become dormant)
secundum	according to
se defendendo	in self-defense
semper	always
seriatim	severally, separately
sic	thus, so, in such manner (used to indicate an error in original, quoted material)
sigillum	a seal
sine	without
sine die	without a day, without a specific day assigned for a future meeting
sine qua non	that without which a thing cannot occur; indispensable condition or part
stare decisis	to abide by decided cases
status quo	state in which, present state
sua sponte	voluntarily, of his own will and motion
sub nomine	under the name of, in the name of, under the title of
sub silentio	under silence, without any notice being taken
sui generis	of its own kind or class, the only one of kind, unique
sui juris	of his own right, having legal capacity to act for himself
supersedeas	superseding (as in the bond that accompanies a writ commanding a stay of proceedings pending appeal)
supra	above, cited in full above
tenere	to hold, to keep
terminus a quo	the starting point
ultra	beyond, in excess of, outside of
ultra vires	without power, beyond the powers of
venire facias	that you cause to come, a type of summons
versus	against (plaintiff v. defendant)
videlicet	it is easy to see, that is to say, namely
vi et armis	by force and arms
vis-a-vis	one who (that which) is face to face with another
vivos	living
voir dire	to speak the truth, the process used to select jurors

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