Legal doublet

A legal doublet is a standardized phrase used frequently in English legal language consisting of two or more words that are near synonyms. The origin of the doubling — and sometimes even tripling — often lies in the transition of legal language from Latin to French. Certain words were simply given in their Latin, French and/or English forms, often pairing an English word (or a more archaic Anglo-Saxon word) with a Latin or French synonym to ensure understanding. Such phrases can often be pleonasms.[1]

List of common legal doublets

  • aid and abet[1]
  • all and sundry[2]
  • acknowledge and confess
  • alter or change[1]
  • appropriate and proper[1]
  • art and part
  • bind and obligate[1]
  • breaking and entering
  • by and between[3]
  • care and attention
  • cease and desist[1]
  • covenant and agree[1]
  • deem and consider[1]
  • demise and lease[1]
  • depose and say
  • due and payable[1]
  • final and conclusive[1]
  • fit and proper
  • free and clear
  • from now and henceforth
  • full faith and credit[1]
  • furnish and supply[1]
  • goods and chattels
  • have and hold[1]
  • heirs and successors
  • hue and cry
  • indemnify and hold harmless[1]
  • keep and perform[1]
  • kind and nature[1]
  • law and order
  • legal and valid[1]
  • let or hindrance
  • lewd and lascivious conduct
  • liens and encumbrances[1]
  • make and enter into[1]
  • mind and memory[4]
  • null and void[1]
  • over and above[1]
  • part and parcel[1]
  • perform and discharge[1]
  • power and authority[1]
  • sale or transfer[1]
  • sole and exclusive[1]
  • successor and assigns[1]
  • to have and to hold
  • terms and conditions[1]
  • then and in that event[1]
  • true and correct[1]
  • will and testament

List of common legal triplets

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 Espenschied, Lenné Eidson (2010). Contract Drafting: Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice. American Bar Association. pp. 164–165. ISBN 9781604427950.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ingels, Mia (2006). Legal English Communication Skills: Introduction to Writing Skills and Vocabulary Acquisition for the Legal Profession. Belgium: ACCO. pp. 60–61. ISBN 9789033461125.
  3. ↑ Grammar and Writing - Doublets - TransLegal
  4. ↑ Garner, Bryan A. (July 2011). Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (3 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 577. ISBN 9780195384208.