elegit

[ih-lee-jit]

noun

Law.

1. a writ of execution against a judgment debtor's goods, property, or land, held by the judgment creditor until payment of the debt, as from rents on the land.

Word History and Origins

Origin of elegit¹

1495–1505; < Latin: he has chosen, perfect 3rd person singular indicative of ēligere; so called from wording of writ

Example Sentences

It is to this same period that is owed the writ Elegit which introduced the law practice of a creditor's remedy over real estate.

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Writ of Elegit.—The writ of elegit is a process enabling the creditor to satisfy his judgment debt out of the lands of the debtor.

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The writ of elegit was first authorized by the Statute of Westminster the Second, which gave the judgment-creditor the right to choose between a writ against the debtor's land, and until 1883 his goods also, and an execution by writ against the latter's person or chattels.

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The new writ, representing the choice of the creditor, was therefore called an elegit, Lat., he has chosen.

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Since the Bankruptcy Act 1883 the writ of elegit has extended to lands and hereditaments only.

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