nuncupative will

American  

noun

Law.

1. a will made by the oral and unwritten declaration of the testator, valid only in special circumstances.

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Etymology

Origin of nuncupative will

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

In a nuncupative will spoken the 14th ofApril, a copy of which is before the writer, he left his books and manuscripts to the Sion Col ege Library.

From Thomas Hariot, the Mathematician, the Philosopher and the Scholar by Stevens, Henry

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 Cable, George Washington

"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 Train, Arthur Cheney

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 Stopes, C. C. (Charlotte Carmichael)

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 Young, Andrew W.