common law

¹

[kom-uhn law]

noun

1. the system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.

2. the unwritten law, especially of England, based on custom or court decision, as distinct from statute law.

3. the law administered through the system of courts established for the purpose, as distinct from equity or admiralty.

common-law

²

[kom-uhn-law]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or established by common law.

   a common-law spouse.

common law

noun

1. the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law

2. the law of a state that is of general application, as distinct from regional customs

3. common-law. (modifier) denoting a marriage deemed to exist after a couple have cohabited for several years

   common-law marriage

   common-law wife

common law

1. Law developed in the course of time from the rulings of judges, as opposed to law embodied in statutes passed by legislatures (statutory law) or law embodied in a written constitution (constitutional law). (See stare decisis.)

The importance of common law is particularly stressed in the legal system of Britain, on which the legal system of the United States is based.

Word History and Origins

Origin of common law¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Origin of common law²

First recorded in 1905–10