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Showing results for compurgation. Search instead for compurgations.
Synonyms

compurgation

American  
[kom-per-gey-shuhn] / ˌkɒm pərˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. an early common-law method of trial in which the defendant is acquitted on the sworn endorsement of a specified number of friends or neighbors.

compurgation British  
/ ˌkɒmpɜːˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

  1. law (formerly) a method of trial whereby a defendant might be acquitted if a sufficient number of persons swore to his innocence

"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

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

The assize ultimately evolved into the jury of verdict, which replaced ordeal, compurgation, and battle as the method of finding the truth.

From Our Legal Heritage by Reilly, S. A.

Proof was by compurgation, the ordeal having been abolished by the Church.

From Our Legal Heritage by Reilly, S. A.

But experience having shown that this method of trial was tumultuary and uncertain, they corrected it by the idea of compurgation.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 07 (of 12) by Burke, Edmund

Trover gradually supplants detinue, in which there is compurgation.

From Our Legal Heritage : 600-1776 King Aethelbert - King George III 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.