Latin for Lawyers

L ATIN FOR L AWYERS

child. The responsibility, imposed by contract or by promise or commitment, to perform a given act. Also, an amount of money or other measure of value which one party is responsible to pay another. OBLIGATIO EX CONTRACTU [L. obligare / to tie up, to bind + ex / out of + contrahere / to unite, bring together] An obligation arising from or based upon contract. OBLIGATIO EX DELICTO ( OR EX MALEFICIO ) An obligation arising from the commission of a tort. See DELICTUM; EX DELICTO; EX MALEFICIO OBLIGEE [L. obligo, obligare ] Anyone who is the recipient or beneficiary of another's promise or duty. A creditor or promisee. OBLIGOR [L. obligo, obligare ] A person who owes a debt or duty to another. A debtor or promisor. OBLITERATE, OBLITERATION [L. oblitterare / to blot out, to wipe from memory] To destroy, wipe out, eliminate. In the law of wills, the act of revoking a will by physically destroying or writing through it, or by cutting away all or por tions of the will. Obliteration is broader than rasure , which is the act of scraping or shaving away letters or words of a document. See RASURE OBLIVION [L. obliviscor , oblivisci / to forget] Forgotten or lost to memory. Also, to ignore prior offenses; to grant amnesty or an official pardon. OBSCENE, OBSCENITY [L. obscenus / foul, repulsive, filthy] Designed to incite lust or depravity; also, conduct or language regarded as taboo in polite usage. In the law, the word has the meaning given to it by the Supreme Court in a number of cases. As a minimum, the Court has defined obscenity as follows: “whether to the average person, applying community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interests.” The definition has been modified and applied differently to fit the facts of individual cases. The Court has ruled that material deemed obscene is not protected by the First Amendment. OBSOLESCENCE [L. obsoloscere / to grow old, decay, wear out] The process whereby an asset falls into disuse. The phasing out of machinery or technology because of changes in public attitutude, science, etc. The grad-

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