nuncupative

American  

[nuhng-kyuh-pey-tiv, nuhng-kyoo-puh-tiv] / ˈnʌŋ kjəˌpeɪ tɪv, nʌŋˈkju pə tɪv /

adjective

1. (especially of a will) oral; not written.

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nuncupative British  

/ nʌŋˈkjuːpətɪv, ˈnʌŋkjʊˌpeɪtɪv /

adjective

1. (of a will) declared orally by the testator and later written down

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Etymology

Origin of nuncupative

First recorded in 1400–50; from Medieval Latin (testāmentum) nuncupātīvum “oral (will),” neuter of Late Latin nuncupātīvus “so-called, nominal,” equivalent to Latin nuncupāt(us), past participle of nuncupāre “to state formally, utter the name of” (probably from unattested nōmicupāre, derivative of nōmiceps “one taking a name,” equivalent to nōmi- combining form of nōmen “name” + -ceps “taker, catcher”); see prince ( def. )) + -īvus -ive ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nuncupative

A will of this kind is called a nuncupative will.

From The Government Class Book Designed for the Instruction of Youth in the Principles of Constitutional Government and the Rights and Duties of Citizens. by Andrew W. Young

By a nuncupative will, he left a house in London to his wife, a house in Acton and a meadow to his daughter Elizabeth, and his study of books to his son-in-law Thomas Nash.

From Shakespeare's Family by C. C. (Charlotte Carmichael) Stopes

"It is true that under certain exceptional circumstances a man may make what is known as a nuncupative will."

From By Advice of Counsel by Arthur Cheney Train

Then he sat down, bent low to the desk, and wrote on a blank form the preamble of a nuncupative will.

From Strange True Stories of Louisiana by George Washington Cable

The will of the Minstrel of Paradise is a nuncupative one taken by his daughter, the great poet being blind.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 494, June 18, 1831 by Various