Latin for Lawyers

L ATIN FOR L AWYERS

PUNISH [L. punio , punire / to punish, avenge] To subject to correction or criticism. To cause to undergo discomfort, pain or loss. To impose a penalty in response to an offense. To penalize in retaliation for the commission of a crime. PUNITIVE [L. punio , punire / to punish] Inflicting, involving, or relating to punishment. Conveying the sense of pen alty or punishment. Punitive measures are steps taken to penalize wrongdoers or to redress wrongs. Punitive damages are damages in excess of those which compensate a plaintiff for his actual loss or injury. They are designed to pun ish the defendant for acts of malice, fraud, wilfulness or violence. They are sometimes called exemplary damages to show that they are meant to discour age others from committing similar acts. PURGE [L. purgare / to cleanse, wash off, clear away] To eliminate. To purify or clear of guilt. To clear someone or oneself of a charge or accusation, especially from an order of contempt. Also, to weed out or reject persons who are considered disloyal, reprehensible or unwanted. PUTATIVE [L. putare / to clear up, to settle; to think, consider, speculate] Assumed to be or to exist. A commonly accepted fact or condition. Consid ered to be; assumed. A putative father is the person commonly accepted as the father of a child. A putative marriage is a marriage entered into by both parties without knowledge of any impediment and which is universally accepted as valid. PYRAMID [L. pyramid (from the Greek pyramis ) / a massive cone-shaped structure having a square base and four ascending triangles which come to a point at the top] A geometric structure formed by a square base and four ascending triangles coming to a common point at the top. The Egyptian pyramids. Increasing one’s stock holdings by buying new shares on margin, i.e., using existing equity to borrow funds for additional purchases. Also, the use of existing equity or capital by corporations to finance the acquisition of other corpora tions; a group of holding companies controlled by a small group of investors in the principal holding company. Also, an illegal scheme for defrauding investors or purchasers by inducing them to procure other investors or pur chasers in exchange for a cash bonus or a discount on their own investments or purchases.

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