Latin for Lawyers

L ATIN FOR L AWYERS

LATENT [L. latere / to be hidden or concealed] Dormant, hidden from view or recognition; not immediately apparent. Not disclosed by inspection. A latent defect in a deed or will is one which is not immediately apparent but which reveals itself at some date or event following execution. See INHERENT DEFECT LATENT AMBIGUITY An ambiguity which cannot be discovered by reading the language of an instrument but is discovered only when the language is applied to some exter nal fact. Thus, a gift to Harry Brown becomes ambiguous and indeterminate without further proof, when we discover that there are two Harry Browns who are both relatives of the donor. See PATENT AMBIGUITY LATITAT ET DISCURRIT He hides and wanders about. A fugitive who escapes and avoids arrest. LATORI PRAESENTIUM [L. lator / the bearer or the proposer + praesentia / presence, for the present] To the bearer of these presents. LAUDAMENTUM PARIUM SUORUM The praise (or lack of it) of his peers. The determination of his peers. The ver dict of a jury. LAUDATOR [L. laudo, laudare / to praise, extol, commend] One who offers praises. A character witness. An adviser. LAUDUM [L. laudare / to praise; to deliver a funeral eulogy] The sentence of a court or of arbitrators. A sentence of doom. A judgment. LAW MERCHANT See LEX MERCATORIA LEGACY [L. lego, legare, legatus / to leave in a will, bequeath; to ordain, appoint, deputize] A gift under a will, usually of money or personal property. A testamentary gift. The person who receives the gift is known as a legatee . The person who disposes of property in his will is known as a legator . Originally, a gift of per sonalty was called a legacy , and a gift of real estate, a bequest , but the distinc tion between the two is no longer made.

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