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common law
[ kom-uhn law ]
/ ËkÉm Én ËlÉ /
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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 1300â50
Words nearby common law
Other definitions for common law (2 of 2)
common-law
[ kom-uhn-law ]
/ ËkÉm ÉnËlÉ /
adjective
of, relating to, or established by common law: a common-law spouse.
Origin of common-law
First recorded in 1905â10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use common law in a sentence
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.