a mensa et thoro

American  

[ay men-suh et thawr-oh, thohr-oh] / eɪ ˈmɛn sə ɛt ˈθɔr oʊ, ˈθoʊr oʊ /

adjective

Law.

1. pertaining to or noting a divorce that forbids spouses to live together but does not dissolve the marriage bond.

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a mensa et thoro British  

/ eɪ ˈmɛnsə ɛt ˈθɔːrəʊ /

adjective

1. law denoting or relating to a form of divorce in which the parties remain married but do not cohabit: abolished in England in 1857

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Etymology

Origin of a mensa et thoro

1590–1600; < Latin: literally, from board and bed. See mensal ², torus

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

a mensa et thoro

She had long been living with the Duke, but in 1769 she obtained a divorce a mensa et thoro, which she believed erroneously annulled the marriage.

From Lady Mary Wortley Montague Her Life and Letters (1689-1762) by Lewis Melville

A divorce a mensa et thoro could also be granted for cruelty.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

This "separation" is really the direct descendant of the Canon law divorce a mensa et thoro, and the inability to marry which it involves is merely a survival of the Canon law tradition.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 6 Sex in Relation to Society by Havelock Ellis

But an answer was afforded by any conduct which would have supported a decree of divorce a mensa et thoro.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

You should have gone to the ecclesiastical court and there obtained against your wife a decree a mensa et thoro.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various

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