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View synonyms for common law

common law

1

[ kom-uhn law ]

noun

  1. the system of law originating in England, as distinct from the civil or Roman law and the canon or ecclesiastical law.
  2. the unwritten law, especially of England, based on custom or court decision, as distinct from statute law.
  3. the law administered through the system of courts established for the purpose, as distinct from equity or admiralty.


common-law

2

[ kom-uhn-law ]

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or established by common law:

    a common-law spouse.

common law

noun

  1. the body of law based on judicial decisions and custom, as distinct from statute law
  2. the law of a state that is of general application, as distinct from regional customs
  3. common-law modifier denoting a marriage deemed to exist after a couple have cohabited for several years

    common-law wife

    common-law marriage

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


common law

  1. Law developed in the course of time from the rulings of judges, as opposed to law embodied in statutes passed by legislatures ( statutory law ) or law embodied in a written constitution (constitutional law). ( See stare decisis .)


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Notes

The importance of common law is particularly stressed in the legal system of Britain , on which the legal system of the United States is based.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of common law1

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Origin of common law2

First recorded in 1905–10
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Example Sentences

Less canonically, “natural marriage” is also at times used as a rough synonym for “common-law marriage.”

Single-parent, same-sex, and common-law families barely penetrated public consciousness, much less the Hebrew lexicon.

Common-law partnerships have their own independent authority and validity.

Common-law partnership makes the couple, and not the government or religious institution, the authority in family life.

Common-law partnership offers privacy and autonomy in a world of increasing intrusion and regulation.

The common law forms much the largest part of the great body of law under which we live.

Common law means the decisions made by the state and federal courts.

The common law is therefore always slowly changing like the ocean and is never at rest.

Again, common law decisions are not binding on the courts that make them like statutes or legislative commands.

The transfers of property covered by the act are those which the common law regards as fraudulent.

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