Legal Dictionary - Law.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the best free Law Dictionary? ›

Lectric Law Library's Dictionary https://www.lectlaw.com/def.htm This is what many consider the Net's best law dictionary. It offers thousands of definitions & explanations of legal terms, phrases & concepts. Please note that LLL's Legal Lexicon addresses mainly US law.

A legal dictionary contains the definitions of legal terms taken from a variety of sources. They are the first place you should look when you do not understand what a legal term means. The two most commonly used legal dictionaries are Black's Law Dictionary and Ballentine's Law Dictionary.

Black's Law Dictionary - Free Online Legal Dictionary.

Black's Law Dictionary is the most frequently used U.S. legal dictionary. It is available in print and on Westlaw. Other popular dictionaries include: Ballentine's Law Dictionary available in print and on LexisNexis.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely accepted as the most complete record of the English language ever assembled. Unlike typical language dictionaries, which only define words in terms of their current uses and meanings, the OED is a historical dictionary.

While some, like Black's, are considered very trustworthy, remember that the definitions in a legal dictionary are not official, authoritative statements of the law. To locate Black's in Westlaw, simply type the title in the main search box on Westlaw and then click on the matching link.

Black's Law Dictionary is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States.

Barron's Dictionary of Legal Terms includes over 2,500 terms in clear, easy-to-understand English and translates “legalese” for the layperson.

A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

Can you access Black's Law Dictionary online? ›

Black's Law Dictionary, 11th ed. can be found on Westlaw. Note: the internet has free versions, but only Westlaw will have the most current and accurate edition.

Voir Dire is a French phrase that means “to speak the truth.” Blacks Law Dictionary 1569 (7th Edition 1999).

The Supreme Court has referred to dictionaries in its opinions over 664 times. In recent years, almost every major case and many minor ones find the justices, or their clerks, thumbing through Webster's Third or the Oxford English Dictionary.

The First Edition of Black's Law Dictionary

Henry Campbell Black (1860—1927) was born in Ossining, New York. He was educated at Trinity College in Connecticut, from which he received a bachelor's degree in 1880, a master's degree in 1887, and an LLD in 1916.

The words in this word bank are listed in the order of their frequency of use in everyday writing. Since the is the most frequently used word in our language, its number is one in the word bank.

Black's Law Dictionary is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States.

"Black's Law Dictionary" is recommended for attorneys and non-attorneys as the ultimate legal terminology reference book.

Most libraries offer remote access. This means that, if you are a member of your local library, you can access the OED online for free anywhere you have internet access.