Search for: legalism
2401 Etymology dictionary, p. authority (n.).4
… of "legal validity," also "authoritative doctrine" (opposed to reason or experience), also "author whose statements are regarded as correct." It is from mid-14c …
2402 Etymology dictionary, p. authorize (v.).3
The meaning "give authority or legal power to" is from mid-15c. The modern spelling from late 16c. Related: Authorized; authorizing. Authorized Version as a popular name for the 1611 ("King James") English Bible is by 1811.
2403 Etymology dictionary, p. authorization (n.).2
"act of authorizing, conferment of legality," c. 1600, noun of action from authorize. Earlier form was auctorisation (late 15c.).
2404 Etymology dictionary, p. avoidance (n.).2
late 14c., "action of emptying," from avoid + -ance. The sense of "action of dodging or shunning" is recorded from early 15c.; it also meant "action of making legally invalid" (1620s), and, of an office, etc., "becoming vacant" (mid-15c.).
2405 Etymology dictionary, p. avow (v.).2
… technical, legal aspect of the word. Related: Avowed; avowing .
2406 Etymology dictionary, p. banal (adj.).2
… "decree; legal control; announcement; authorization; payment for use of a communal oven, mill, etc.," from a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *bannan "to speak …
2407 Etymology dictionary, p. band (n.1).4
… senses ("legal or moral commitment; captivity, imprisonment," etc.) have passed into bond (n.), which originally was a phonetic variant of this band. The Middle English …
2408 Etymology dictionary, p. banlieue (n.).2
… the legal jurisdiction." German had a similar formation, bann-meile (see mile (n.)), in the same sense; and compare Middle English bane cruces "crosses marking the …
2409 Etymology dictionary, p. bar (n.3).2
… , the legal profession," 1550s, a sense which derives ultimately from the railing that separated benchers from the hall in the Inns of Court (see bar (n.1)). Students …
2410 Etymology dictionary, p. barratry (n.).3
… starting legal suits" is from 1640s. The sense of the word has been somewhat confused with that of Middle English baratri "combat, fighting" (c. 1400), from Old Norse …
2411 Etymology dictionary, p. barrister (n.).2
"one practicing as an advocate in English courts of law," 1540s, from bar (n.3) in the legal sense + -ster. Also see attorney. The middle element is obscure. Related: Barristerial .
2412 Etymology dictionary, p. beat (v.).4
… of "legally avoid, escape" in beat the charges, etc., attested from c. 1920 in underworld slang). The sense of "be too difficult for" intellectually or physically …
2413 Etymology dictionary, p. benevolence (n.).3
In English history, this was the name given to forced extra-legal loans or contributions to the crown, first so called 1473 by Edward IV, who "asked" it as a token of good will toward his rule.
2414 Etymology dictionary, p. bequeath (v.).3
… the legal sense of "transfer by legacy." Compare bequest. "An old word kept alive in wills" [OED 1st ed.]. Old English bequeðere meant "interpreter, translator." Related …
2415 Etymology dictionary, p. black code (n.).2
local or state legal restrictions on black persons, free or slave, 1774, American English, though the first reference is to French colonies in the West Indies.
2416 Etymology dictionary, p. bonded (adj.).2
"legally confirmed or secured by bond," 1590s, from bond (v.).
2417 Etymology dictionary, p. bondage (n.).2
… . 1300, "legal condition of a serf or slave," from Middle English bond "a serf, tenant farmer," from Old English bonda "householder," from or cognate with Old Norse boandi …
2418 Etymology dictionary, p. brief (n.).2
… modern, legal sense of "systematic summary of the facts of a case" (1630s). The sense of "a short or concise writing" is from 1560s. In German, Brief has become the general …
2419 Etymology dictionary, p. bushel (n.).3
… precise legal definition, it varied in U.S. from state to state. It has been used since late 14c. loosely to mean "a large quantity or number." Attested from late …
2420 Etymology dictionary, p. butt (n.2).2
… a legal measure, but it varied greatly and the subject is a complicated one (see notes in Century Dictionary).