The Law Dictionary for Everyone
The term mea culpa is a Latin phrase that translates to mean “through my fault.” In other words, the mea culpa meaning is an individual’s acknowledgment that he did something wrong. An example of mea culpa in the legal world is a person’s confession to having committed a crime. To explore this concept, consider the following mea culpa definition. Definition […]
Read moreThe term sine qua non is translated from Latin to mean “without which it could not be.” For example, sine qua non would apply to a situation wherein a child found his father’s gun in an unlocked cabinet and injured himself. The father, who left the gun cabinet unlocked, was the sine qua non of the injury that his child […]
Read moreThe term de facto translates to mean “in fact.” In the world of law, if something is de facto, that means it exists in fact, even if not legally recognized. For example, de facto corporations may have failed to file all of the necessary paperwork to be legally recognized as corporations, yet have behaved in such a way as to […]
Read moreThe Latin term sine die translates as “without fixing a day [for future action].” When an adjournment is granted sine die in a court of law, this means that the court has neglected to assign a specific date for another conference or hearing in the future. To adjourn a matter sine die means to adjourn it for an indefinite period […]
Read moreThe Latin term non compos mentis translates as “not of sound mind.” In the legal system, the term is used to refer to an inability to think clearly, or to make decisions, usually due to mental illness. Someone who is non compos mentis may not be responsible for his or her actions. To explore this concept, consider the following non […]
Read moreThe Latin term ipso facto translates as “the fact by itself.” It is used in science, philosophy, and law to refer to something that, by the fact that it exists – or that it occurred – means something else is true. For example, if you grew up in San Francisco, ipso facto you’re a Californian. By the very fact of […]
Read moreIn the world of economics, the Latin phrase ceteris paribus means “all other things remaining constant.” This is a necessary concept as, when evaluating such things as price, supply, and demand in an economic setting becomes a nightmare, if one considers all of the variables that could effect any of those things. So, for this purpose, focusing on currently relevant […]
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