common law

[ kom-uhn law ]

/ ˈkɒm ən ˈlɔ /

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noun

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

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

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

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Origin of common law

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Words nearby common law

common good, common grackle, common ground, commonhold, common knowledge, common law, common-law marriage, common logarithm, commonly, common mallow, Common Market

Other definitions for common law (2 of 2)

common-law

[ kom-uhn-law ]

/ ˈkɒm ənˈlɔ /

adjective

of, relating to, or established by common law: a common-law spouse.

Origin of common-law

First recorded in 1905–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use common law in a sentence

Instead, he has a lawyer’s eye for the ways in which legislation and common law have helped shape attitudes about fashion, along with a fan’s sustained curiosity about fashion’s visual language.
Why the tailored suit — not ruffles and lace — became synonymous with power|Robin Givhan|May 21, 2021|Washington Post
The court rejected the city’s efforts to sue under state nuisance law for damages caused by the companies’ “admittedly legal” production and sale of fossil fuels, and said the city’s federal common law claims were displaced by the Clean Air Act.
GAO: U.S. spent $162 million on remdesivir||April 1, 2021|Washington Post
The US and UK often mirror each other because they have a similar common law structure, says Mania.
Deepfake porn is ruining women’s lives. Now the law may finally ban it|Karen Hao|February 12, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Unless there is a court decision that changes our law, we are OK.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Submission is set in a France seven years from now that is dominated by a Muslim president intent on imposing Islamic law.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A few days later, Bush replied, “We will uphold the law in Florida.”
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To those who agreed with him, Bush pledged that the law against same-sex marriage would remain intact.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In Israel, however, a new law took effect January 1st that banned the use of underweight models.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We should have to admit that the new law does little or nothing to relieve such a situation.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
He that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth deceitfully, shall meet with a stumblingblock therein.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
To Harrison and his wife there was no distinction between the executive and judicial branches of the law.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Now this setting up of an orderly law-abiding self seems to me to imply that there are impulses which make for order.
Children's Ways|James Sully
These schools became affiliated Universities, but never equalled the Law University in importance.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for common law

common law

noun

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

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

common-law (modifier) denoting a marriage deemed to exist after a couple have cohabited for several yearscommon-law marriage; common-law wife

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for common law

common law

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.)

notes for common law

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.

common law

Origin of common law

Words nearby common law

Other definitions for common law (2 of 2)

Origin of common-law

Words related to common law

How to use common law in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for common law

Cultural definitions for common law

notes for common law