law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, to compass is to purpose (or intend) something. It is an individual that is imagining something or to plot a plan. ''Compassing'' signifies a purpose (or design) of the mind (or will), and not carrying such

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

to effect.

References

*''A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States''. By John Bouvier. Published 1856. Legal terminology {{law-term-stub