A legal doublet is a standardized

phrase In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...

used frequently in English

legal language Legal English is the type of English as used in legal writing. In general, a legal language is a formalized language based on logic rules which differs from the ordinary natural language in vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and semantics, as well ...

consisting of two or more words that are

irreversible binomial In linguistics and stylistics, an irreversible binomial, frozen binomial, binomial freeze, binomial expression, binomial pair, or nonreversible word pair is a pair or group of words used together in fixed order as an idiomatic expression or co ...

s and frequently

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

s, usually connected by "and", such as "null and void". The order of the words cannot be reversed, as it would be particularly unusual to ask someone to ''desist and cease'' or to have property owned ''clear and free''; these common legal phrases are universally known as ''cease and desist'' and ''free and clear''. The doubling—and sometimes even tripling—often originates in the transition from use of one language for legal purposes to another: in Britain, from a native English term to a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Law French Law French ( nrf, Louai Français, enm, Lawe Frensch) is an archaic language originally based on Old Norman and Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England, be ...

term; in

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

-speaking countries, from

to the vernacular. To ensure understanding, the terms from both languages were used. This reflected the interactions between Germanic and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

law following the decline of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. These phrases are often

pleonasm Pleonasm (; , ) is redundancy in linguistic expression, such as "black darkness" or "burning fire". It is a manifestation of tautology by traditional rhetorical criteria and might be considered a fault of style. Pleonasm may also be used for em ...

s and form

s. In other cases the two components have differences which are subtle, appreciable only to lawyers, or obsolete. For example, '' ways and means'', referring to methods and resources respectively, are differentiable, in the same way that ''tools and materials'', or ''equipment and funds'', are differentiable—but the difference between them is often practically irrelevant to the contexts in which the irreversible binomial ''ways and means'' is used today in non-legal contexts as a mere

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

. Doublets may also have arisen or persisted because the solicitors and clerks who drew up conveyances and other documents were paid by the word, which tended to encourage verbosity. Their habitual use has been decried by some legal scholars as superfluous in modern legal briefs.

List of common legal doublets

accord and satisfaction Accord and satisfaction is a contract law concept about the purchase of the release from a debt obligation. It is one of the methods by which parties to a contract may terminate their agreement. The release is completed by the transfer of valuable ...

* acknowledge and confess * aid and abet * all and sundry * alter or change * appropriate and proper *

art and part Art and part is a term used in Scots law to denote the aiding or abetting in the perpetration of a crime, or being an accessory before or at the perpetration of the crime. There is no such offence recognised in Scotland, as that of being an acce ...

* assault and battery * bind and obligate *

breaking and entering Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

* butts and bounds * by and between * care and attention *

cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not dis ...

* covenant and agree * deem and consider * demise and lease * depose and say * due and payable * expressed or implied * facts and circumstances * final and conclusive * fit and proper * for and on behalf of *

free and clear In property law, the term free and clear refers to ownership without legal encumbrances, such as a lien or mortgage. So, for example: a person owns a house free and clear if he has paid off the mortgage and no creditor has filed a lien against i ...

* from now and henceforth * full faith and credit * furnish and supply * goods and chattels * have and hold * heirs and successors *

high crimes and misdemeanors The charge of high crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct by officials. Offenses by officials also include ordinary crimes, but perhaps with different standards of proof and punishment than for non-officials, on the grounds th ...

hue and cry In common law, a hue and cry is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of committing a crime. History By the Statute of Winchester of 1285, 13 Edw. I statute 2. c ...

* indemnify and hold harmless *

infangthief and outfangthief Infangthief and outfangthief were privileges granted to feudal lords (and various corporate bodies such as abbeys and cities) under Anglo-Saxon law by the kings of England. They permitted their bearers to execute summary justice (including capital ...

* keep and perform * kind and nature *

law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

* legal and valid * let or hindrance * lewd and lascivious conduct * liens and encumbrances * make and enter into * marque and reprisal *

metes and bounds Metes and bounds is a system or method of describing land, real property (in contrast to personal property) or real estate. The system has been used in England for many centuries and is still used there in the definition of general boundaries. The ...

* mind and memory *

null and void In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document, or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity—the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened. The term void ''ab initio'', which means " ...

* over and above * part and parcel * perform and discharge * power and authority *

sac and soc __NOTOC__ The term ''soke'' (; in Old English: ', connected ultimately with ', "to seek"), at the time of the Norman conquest of England, generally denoted "jurisdiction", but its vague usage makes it probably lack a single, precise definition. A ...

* sale or transfer * signed and sealedWord Pairs
/ref> * sole and exclusive * successor and assigns *

terms and conditions A contractual term is "any provision forming part of a contract". Each term gives rise to a contractual obligation, the breach of which may give rise to litigation. Not all terms are stated expressly and some terms carry less legal gravity as t ...

* then and in that event *

toll and team Toll and team (also spelled ''thol and theam'') were related privileges granted by the Crown to landowners under Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman law. First known from a charter of around 1023, the privileges usually appeared as part of a standard form ...

* true and correct *

waif and stray Waif and stray was a legal privilege commonly granted by the Crown to landowners under Anglo-Norman law. It usually appeared as part of a standard formula in charters granting privileges to estate-holders, along the lines of "with sac and soc, toll ...

* ways and means *

will and testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person ( executor) is to manage the property until its final distributi ...

List of common legal triplets

* arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable * cancel, annul and set aside * convey, transfer and set over * give, devise and bequeath * grant, bargain, sell * name, constitute and appoint * null, void and of no effect * ordered, adjudged and decreed * remise, release and forever quit claim * rest, residue and remainder * right, title and interest * signed, sealed, and delivered * way, shape or form

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Doublet Legal terminology Legal writing

List of common legal doublets

List of common legal triplets

See also

References