compurgation
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- compurgator noun
- compurgatory adjective
Etymology
Origin of compurgation
1650–60; < Medieval Latin compurgātiōn- (stem of compurgātiō ), equivalent to com- com- + purgāt ( us ) (past participle of purgāre to purge ) + -iōn- -ion
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.
This form gradually fell into disuse before the more rational form of compurgation introduced into Teutonic courts in the fifth century.
From Prize Orations of the Intercollegiate Peace Association by Weston, Stephen Francis
On the other hand, fines were to be assessed according to local custom; compurgation was retained for unimportant cases and inheritances were to remain divisible among all heirs male.
From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 06 (From Barbarossa to Dante) by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)
It might give procedural privileges: trial by battle is excluded, and trial by compurgation is secured and regulated.
From Our Legal Heritage by Reilly, S. A.
With this assize too a practice which had prevailed from the earliest English times, the practice of "compurgation," passed away.
From History of the English People, Volume I Early England, 449-1071; Foreign Kings, 1071-1204; The Charter, 1204-1216 by Green, John Richard
There was no trial by compurgation, which was abolished by Henry.
From Our Legal Heritage by Reilly, S. A.
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.
