Old Legal Terms & Court Glossary

Have you ever been deep into old court records, probate files, land documents, or early newspaper notices and wondered, “What on earth does this legal term mean?” Many expressions that were once common in legal proceedings have disappeared from modern usage, leaving genealogists puzzled when they encounter them. This list provides clear, concise definitions of old and obsolete legal terminology so you can confidently interpret your ancestors’ court cases, disputes, property transactions, and legal notices.

Old Term	Meaning / Short Definition
Abate	Reduce or nullify a legal claim
Abeyance	Temporary suspension of a title or claim
Accessory Before the Fact	Helped plan a crime but wasn’t present
Actionable	Grounds sufficient to bring a lawsuit
Affray	Public fight disturbing the peace
Aforethought (Malice Aforethought)	Premeditation required for murder
Ages of Consent / Majority / Discretion	Legal age thresholds
Aide and Abettor	One who assists a criminal act
Alderman’s Court	Early municipal court
Alias Dictus (Alias)	Person known by another name
Alimony Pendente Lite	Temporary spousal support during divorce
Amotion	Removal from office
Animus	Intent or motive
Assize / Assizes	Traveling court sessions held by judges
Attaint	Conviction that stripped civil rights
Bailiwick	Jurisdiction of a bailiff
Bastardy Bond	Bond guaranteeing support for illegitimate child
Battery	Physical attack
Beneficiary Bequeathed	Person receiving property in a will
Benefit of Clergy	Medieval privilege reducing punishment
Bill of Costs	List of legal fees
Bill of Indictment	Formal criminal charge
Bill of Particulars	Detailed statement of claim
Blackmail	Extortion by threats
Bond for Peace	Promise to maintain good behavior
Bound Over	Required to appear in court under bond
Breach of Promise	Lawsuit for breaking engagement to marry
Breachy	Repeated offender of minor laws (regional)
Calumny	False accusation
Capias	Writ ordering arrest
Certiorari	Higher court review of lower court case
Cestui Que Trust	Beneficiary of a trust
Cestui Que Vie	Person whose life determines duration of an estate
Chancery Court	Equity court for estates, guardianship, disputes
Chattel	Personal property
Claim Jumper	One who illegally seizes a claim
Clerk of the Peace	Officer maintaining local legal records
Cognovit	Written acknowledgment of debt
Color of Law	Pretended authority
Common Scold	Person accused of habitual public disturbance

Old Term	Meaning / Short Definition
Compensation Roll	Early list of fines/penalties
Compurgation	Oath-taking with character witnesses
Conservator	Person managing affairs of another
Constable’s Sale	Forced sale of property for debts
Contumacy	Refusal to obey court orders
Coram Nobis	Petition to correct fundamental error
Coroner’s Inquest	Inquiry into cause of death
Court of Oyer and Terminer	Court empowered to try serious crimes
Covenant	Formal written promise
Curtesy	Husband’s right to deceased wife’s land
Damages, Exemplary	Punitive damages
Day Book / Docket	Court schedule of cases
Defalcation	Embezzlement or misappropriation
Defeasance	Document voiding another document
Demesne	Land held directly (often by lord)
Demurrer	Objection that complaint lacks legal basis
Deodand	Object causing death, forfeited to Crown
Detinue	Wrongful detention of property
Dies Non Juridicus	Non-court day
Disseisin	Wrongful dispossession of land
Distress	Seizing property to enforce payment
Dower	Widow’s legal share of estate
Ejectment	Removal from land
Elisor	Person appointed when sheriff is disqualified
En Plea	In open court
Escheat	Property reverting to state when no heirs
Estreat	Recorded forfeited bond for enforcement
Ex Parte	Proceeding by one party only
Executor / Executrix	Person administering a will
Fealty	Loyalty oath in early land systems
Fee Tail	Estate inherited only by direct descendants
Felonious Assault	Serious assault suggesting intent to kill
Feme Covert	Married woman under husband’s authority
Feme Sole	Unmarried woman with full legal rights
Fieri Facias	Writ ordering seizure of goods
Foreclosure of Equity	Ending right to redeem mortgaged property
Gaol / Gaoler	Jail / jailer
Garnishee	Third party holding debtor’s funds
Good Behavior Bond	Bond requiring lawful conduct
Habeas Corpus	Order to bring detainee to court
Heinous Offense	Very serious crime
Holographic Will	Handwritten will
Hue	Ancient term for cry of pursuit
Hue and Cry	Public pursuit of a criminal

Old Term	Meaning / Short Definition
Ignominious Punishment	Punishment involving public shame
Impanel	Enroll jurors for service
Imprimis	“First of all,” in wills/inventories
Impunity	Protection from punishment
Indenture	Contract or deed with multiple parties
Infant	Legal minor (not necessarily young child)
Informations	Charges filed without grand jury
Injunction	Court order to stop an action
Inquest of Lunacy	Inquiry into mental competence
Jeofail	Correction of pleading errors
Laches	Loss of rights due to delay
Latitat	Writ for arrest of person evading summons
Leet / Court Leet	Local manorial court
Letters of Administration	Authority to settle intestate estate
Levy	Seizure of property to satisfy debt
Libel	Written defamation
Mainprise	Release from custody with sureties
Manslaughter	Killing without malice aforethought
Mayhem	Maiming or disabling another
Mesne Profits	Income from land wrongfully occupied
Mistrial	Trial declared invalid
Mittent	One who sends or delivers legal papers
Mittimus	Order committing someone to jail
Mulct	Fine or penalty
Nolle Prosequi	Prosecution drops charges
Nudum Pactum	Agreement without consideration
Outlawry	Declaring person outside legal protection
Parens Patriae	State as guardian of vulnerable persons
Per Stirpes	Inheritance by family branches
Pettifogger	Dishonest, low-level lawyer
Plenary	Full or complete authority
Portreeve	Old municipal/judicial officer
Praecipe	Order for clerk to prepare writ
Presentment	Jury reporting observed offense
Probate	Legal validation of a will
Quash	Nullify a legal action
Quid Pro Quo	Something exchanged for something
Recognizance	Bond promising court appearance
Replevin	Return of wrongfully taken goods
Res Gestae	Surrounding circumstances of an act
Retinue	Sheriff’s accompanying officers

Old Term	Meaning / Short Definition
Reversioner	Person inheriting after estate ends
Scire Facias	Writ to revive judgment
Sedition	Inciting rebellion
Seisin	Legal possession of land
Slander	Spoken defamation
Sovereignty of the Peace	Broad authority to maintain order
Statute Staple	Early commercial loan security
Subornation	Persuading someone to perjure
Sui Juris	Legally competent
Surety	One guaranteeing another’s obligation
Testator / Testatrix	Person making a will
Toll the Statute	Pause the running of a limitations period
Tortfeasor	Person committing a civil wrong
Trespass on the Case	Civil claim for harm
Usufruct	Use of property without owning it
Vacate	Cancel a judgment
Venire Facias	Order summoning jurors
Verdict	Jury’s decision
Vexatious Litigation	Harassing lawsuit
View of Frankpledge	Annual manorial court review
Waif & Stray	Property abandoned or unclaimed
Warrant of Commitment	Order sending person to jail
Writ of Capias Ad Respondendum	Arrest to compel court response
Writ of Capias Ad Satisfaciendum	Arrest until debt is satisfied
Writ of Certiorari	Appellate review order
Writ of Error	Review of lower court decision
Writ of Fi. Fa. (Fieri Facias)	Order to seize property to satisfy judgment
Writ of Habeas	Command to produce a detained person
Writ of Mandamus	Order compelling official action
Writ of Partition	Division of jointly owned property
Writ of Repleader	Order to redo pleadings

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