Definition
In Law French, *arerissement* denotes hindrance, delay, or prejudice. The term appears in medieval Anglo-Norman legal texts to describe an impediment or obstruction to a legal proceeding, right, or interest — the condition of being held back or disadvantaged in a legal context. It is not a term of art in modern common law and survives only in historical legal sources, where it occasionally appears in connection with procedural delay or the suspension of a legal right or remedy.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers will encounter *arerissement* almost exclusively in medieval and early modern English legal records and treatises that preserve Law French vocabulary. Its practical significance is narrow but specific: when found in a historical document, it signals that some form of impediment, delay, or prejudicial interference is being described — not a substantive right or cause of action in itself, but a characterization of a legal condition or obstacle.
The chief research trap is conflation with the related Law French verb *arester* (to stop, stay, or arrest), from the same conceptual family. Burrill himself places *areister* and *arester* in close proximity to *arerissement*, and early scribes and copyists sometimes used these forms inconsistently. A document referencing *arerissement* may be describing a procedural stay, an injury to a party's legal position, or a broader equitable prejudice — the surrounding context is essential to distinguish among these meanings.
Because the term has no modern common law successor, researchers should not expect to find it in post-seventeenth-century English or American legal sources. Its natural habitat is Year Books, early chancery records, and Law French glossaries and dictionaries of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary (the sole shelf source for this entry) defines *arerissement* as "hindrance; delay; prejudice," citing Kelham's *Law French Dictionary* as authority. Burrill does not elaborate beyond the bare definition and the cross-reference to *arester* and *areister*.
The brevity of Burrill's treatment is itself informative: even among nineteenth-century legal lexicographers, who were more attentive to Law French survivals than modern practitioners, *arerissement* warranted only a gloss. This suggests the term was already a relic in active legal usage by the time Burrill compiled his dictionary, preserved chiefly for the benefit of historians and antiquarians working with medieval sources rather than practitioners.
Kelham's *Normand Dictionary* (1779), cited by Burrill, remains the most direct primary authority on Law French vocabulary of this kind. Researchers needing fuller context for the term in manuscript or printed sources should consult Kelham directly, as Burrill's entry is derivative and minimal.
No significant divergence exists among historical sources on the core meaning — hindrance, delay, prejudice — though the weight given to each of the three glosses may vary depending on context.
Jurisdictional Note
*Arerissement* is a term of Anglo-Norman Law French and is relevant primarily to English legal history. It has no recognized independent life in Scottish, Irish, or continental civilian legal traditions, and no equivalent appears in American legal sources.