nominal damages

plural noun

, Law.

1. damages of a small amount awarded to a plaintiff where substantial compensable loss has not been established but whose legal rights were violated.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nominal damages¹

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Nominal damages, it will therefore be seen, are not the same as “small damages.”

From Project Gutenberg

Dockwra was ordered by the court to pay nominal damages, and was forbidden to continue his penny post.

From Project Gutenberg