Definition
A Latin term of medieval English law meaning "to abate." It appears in legal records and pleadings as the Latin verb form corresponding to the English "to abate" — that is, to diminish, nullify, put an end to, or overthrow. The term itself carries no independent substantive meaning beyond its function as the Latin equivalent of "abate"; its significance lies entirely in its use as a term of art in old English legal documents, writs, and reported cases.
The conjugated form abatavit — meaning "she abated" — also appears in historical sources and was employed in pleadings to describe a specific act of abatement by a named party.
Common Confusion
Abatare should not be confused with the substantive legal doctrines that "abatement" encompasses. The Latin verb form tells a researcher only that an act of abating occurred or was pleaded; it does not identify which variety of abatement is at issue. Researchers encountering abatare or abatavit in a historical record must look to context — the nature of the action, the parties, and the subject matter — to determine whether the relevant doctrine is plea in abatement, abatement of nuisance, abatement of legacy, or another form entirely.
Why It Matters in Research
Abatare is a marker term: encountering it signals that a source is drawing on medieval or early modern English legal Latin, most likely from Year Books, writs, or reports predating widespread use of English in legal proceedings. Researchers working in pre-modern English case law, particularly in actions involving nuisance, trespass, pleading defects, or intrusion upon lands, may encounter abatare or abatavit in Latin portions of the record.
The term itself is a gateway, not a destination. Its presence in a source directs the researcher toward the substantive doctrine of abatement — a broad and context-dependent concept that operates differently depending on whether the subject is a plea in abatement, abatement of a nuisance, abatement of a bequest, or abatement of an action by death of a party. Researchers must identify which sense of "abate" applies before proceeding, as the surrounding doctrinal frameworks are entirely distinct.
Because Bouvier and Burrill both cross-reference Yelv. 151 — a citation to Yelverton's Reports, an early seventeenth-century English reporters' volume — researchers tracing this term should be aware that Yelverton's Reports covers cases from the reign of James I and reflects legal Latin conventions of that period. The citation is shared across both dictionaries and appears to be the primary, if not sole, authority cited for the term in the historical dictionary tradition.
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier's entry is minimal: it offers only the English gloss "to abate" and the single citation to Yelverton's Reports. Burrill's entry is marginally more expansive, identifying the term's linguistic origin in French (abater), situating it explicitly within "old English law," and adding the conjugated form abatavit with its translation. Both dictionaries treat abatare as a referential entry — a signpost to the substantive entry on "Abate" rather than an independent doctrinal term. Neither source provides a definition of the underlying doctrine of abatement at this entry; both assume the researcher will follow the cross-reference.
The historical dictionary tradition offers nothing here beyond the translation and a single shared citation, which reflects the term's purely functional character: it was a Latin verb used in records, not a concept requiring elaboration.