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estoppel

[e-stop-uh l]
noun Law.
  1. a bar or impediment preventing a party from asserting a fact or a claim inconsistent with a position that party previously took, either by conduct or words, especially where a representation has been relied or acted upon by others.
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Origin of estoppel

First recorded in 1575–85, estoppel is from the Middle French word estoupail stopper. See estop, -al2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for estoppel

Historical Examples

  • The doctrine of estoppel "cutting no figure" with the Baxter contingent.

    Shadow and Light

    Mifflin Wistar Gibbs

  • History now pleads them as an estoppel against his followers.

  • Peter stood in the sunshine, looking at the estoppel clause, his lips agape.

    Birthright

    T.S. Stribling

  • If A trades in his own name, a person dealing with him cannot claim that A is a corporation by estoppel.

  • To create a corporation by estoppel, there must be an organization assuming to act as a corporation.

British Dictionary definitions for estoppel

estoppel

noun
  1. law a rule of evidence whereby a person is precluded from denying the truth of a statement of facts he has previously assertedSee also conclusion
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Word Origin

C16: from Old French estoupail plug, from estoper to stop up; see estop
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

Word Origin and History for estoppel

n.

1530s, from Old French estopail, literally "bung, cork," from estoper (see estop).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper