Legal Term Dictionary

A corn-field; a field of grain. Blount; Cowell; Jacob.

A corn-field; a field of grain. Blount; Cowell; Jacob. Less...

In old English law. The fighting of two champions or combatants in the field; tbe judicial combat, or duellum. 3 lust. 221.

In old English law. The fighting of two champions or combatants in the field; tbe judicial combat, or duellum. 3 lust. 221. Less...

In old European law. An assembly of the people; so called from being anciently held in the open air, in some plain capable of containing a large, number of persons. In feudal and old English law. A field, or plain. The field, ground, or lists marked out for the combatants More...

In old European law. An assembly of the people; so called from being anciently held in the open air, in some plain capable of containing a large, number of persons. In feudal and old English law. A field, or plain. The field, ground, or lists marked out for the combatants in the duellum, or trial by battle. —Campus Mail. The field of May. An anniversary assembly of the Saxons, held on May-day, when they confederated for the defense of the kingdom against all its enemies. —Campus Martii. The field of March. See CHAMP DE MARS. Less...

A Spanish measure of length varying (in different localities) from about five to seven feet

A Spanish measure of length varying (in different localities) from about five to seven feet Less...

An artificial ditch or trench in the earth, for confining water to a defined channel, to be used for purposes of transportation. The meaning of this word, when applied to artificial passages for water, is a trench or excavation in the earth, for conducting water and confining it to narrow More...

An artificial ditch or trench in the earth, for confining water to a defined channel, to be used for purposes of transportation. The meaning of this word, when applied to artificial passages for water, is a trench or excavation in the earth, for conducting water and confining it to narrow limits. It is unlike the words "river," "pond," "lake," and other words used to designate natural bodies of water, the ordinary meaning of which is confined to the water itself; but it includes also the banks, and has reference rather to the excavation or channel as a receptacle for the water; it is an artificial thing. Navigation Co. v. Berks County, 11 Pa. 202; Bishop v. Seeley, 18 Conn. 393; Kennedy v. Indianapolis, 103 U. S. 604, 26 L. Ed. 550. Less...

To obliterate, strike, or cross out; to destroy the effect of an instrument by defacing, obliterating, expunging, or erasing it. In equity. Courts of equity frequently cancel instruments which have answered the end for which they were created, or instruments which are void or voidable, in order to prevent them More...

To obliterate, strike, or cross out; to destroy the effect of an instrument by defacing, obliterating, expunging, or erasing it. In equity. Courts of equity frequently cancel instruments which have answered the end for which they were created, or instruments which are void or voidable, in order to prevent them from being vexatiously used against the person apparently bound by them. SnelI, Eq. 498. The original and proper meaning of the word "cancellation" is the defacement of a writing by drawing lines across it in the form of crossbars or lattice work; but the same legal result may be accomplished by drawing lines through any essential part, erasing the signature, writing the word "canceled" on the face of the instrument, tearing off seals, or any similar act which puts the instrument in a condition where its invalidity appears on its face. In re Akers' Will, 74 App. Div. 461. 77 N. Y. Supp. 643; Baldwin v. Howell, 45 N. J. Eq. 519, 15 Atl. 236: In re Alger's Will. 38 Misc. Rep. 143, 77 N. Y. Supp. 166; Evans' Appeal. 58 Pa. 244; Glass v. Scott 14 Colo. App. 377, 60 Pac. 186; In re Olmsted's Estate, 122 Cal. 224, 54 Pac. 745; Doe v. Perkes, 3 Barn. & A. 492. A revenue stamp is canceled by writing on its face the initials of the person using or affixing it. Spear v. Alexander, 42 Ala. 575. There is also a secondary or derivative meaning of the word', in which it signifies annulment er abrogation by the act or agreement of parties concerned, though without physical defacement. Golden, v. Fowler, 26 Ga. 464: Win-ton v. Spring, 18 Cal. 455. And "cancel" may sometimes be taken as equivalent to "discharge" or 'pay," as in an agreement by one person to cancel the indebtedness of another to a third Sirson. Auburn City Bank v. Leonard. 40 arb. (N. Y.) 119. Synonyms. Cancellation is properly distinguished from obliteration in this, that the former is a crossing out, while the latter is a blotting out; the former leaves the words still legible, while the latter renders them illegible. Townshend v. Howard, 86 Me. 285, 29 Atl. 1077. "Spoliation" is the erasure or alteration of a writing by a stranger, and may amount to a cancellation if of such a nature as to invalidate it on its face; but defacement of an instrument is not properly called "spoliation" If performed by one having control of the instrument as its maker or one duly authorized to destroy it "Revocation" is an act of the mind, of which cancellation may be a physical manifestation; but cancellation does not revoke unless done with that intention. Dan v. Brown. 4 Cow. (N. Y.) 490, 15 Am. Dec. 395; In re foods' Will (Sur.) 11 N. Y. Supp. 157. Less...

Chancery; the court of chancery. Curia cancellaria is also used in the same sense. See 4 Bl. Comm. 46; Cowell Cancellari Anglian dignitas est, ut secundus a rege in regno habetur. The dignity of the chancellor of England is that he is deemed the second from the sovereign in the More...

Chancery; the court of chancery. Curia cancellaria is also used in the same sense. See 4 Bl. Comm. 46; Cowell Cancellari Anglian dignitas est, ut secundus a rege in regno habetur. The dignity of the chancellor of England is that he is deemed the second from the sovereign in the kingdom. 4 Inst 78. Less...

A chancellor; a scrivener, or notary. A janitor, or one who stood at the door of the court and was accustomed to carry out the commands of the judges.

A chancellor; a scrivener, or notary. A janitor, or one who stood at the door of the court and was accustomed to carry out the commands of the judges. Less...

In old English law. A cancelling. Bract 398b.

In old English law. A cancelling. Bract 398b. Less...

The rails or lattice work or balusters inclosing the bar of a court of justice or the communion table. Also the lines drawn on the face of a will or other writing, with the intention of revoking or annulling it. See CANCEL.

The rails or lattice work or balusters inclosing the bar of a court of justice or the communion table. Also the lines drawn on the face of a will or other writing, with the intention of revoking or annulling it. See CANCEL. Less...