obiter dictum
Americannoun
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an incidental or passing remark, opinion, etc.
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Law. an incidental or supplementary opinion by a judge in deciding a case, upon a matter not essential to the decision, and therefore not binding as precedent.
noun
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law an observation by a judge on some point of law not directly in issue in the case before him and thus neither requiring his decision nor serving as a precedent, but nevertheless of persuasive authority
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any comment, remark, or observation made in passing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of obiter dictum
1805–15; < Latin: (a) saying by the way
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It is an obiter dictum," somebody said to me, apparently thinking that Latin would persuade me.
From Newsweek • Feb. 16, 2013
Not so, said Burger, in an obiter dictum to a decision that substantiated a Winston-Salem, N.C., busing order.
From Time Magazine Archive
Perhaps never again will there be anything quite like the cool authority of an obiter dictum from Emily Post.
From Time Magazine Archive
While plumping before a House committee for a $10 million bill to battle juvenile delinquency, Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Abraham Ribicoff delivered an obiter dictum on child labor legislation.
From Time Magazine Archive
Whatever goes beyond that which is required to show that the judgment is the legal conclusion from the ascertained facts is styled in law language obiter dictum.
From The American Judiciary by Baldwin, Simeon E., LLD
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
