Definition
Latin: "Of the signification of words." A title designation from Roman law, specifically referring to Book 50, Title 16 of the Digest (also called the Pandects), a massive compilation of Roman juristic writing ordered by Emperor Justinian and completed in 533 CE. Title 16 of Book 50 functions as a legal glossary for the entire Digest: it consists entirely of definitions of legal words and phrases drawn from the writings of the classical Roman jurists, assembled to give precise meaning to terminology used throughout the compilation.
The phrase is also used more broadly to describe any legal instrument or section devoted to the definition and interpretation of terms — a usage carried into medieval and early modern legal drafting and commentary.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encountering this phrase in primary sources, treatises, or pleadings are most likely seeing one of two things: a direct citation to Digest 50.16, or a section heading in a later document that consciously echoes the Roman model by defining operative terms.
The Digest citation is the more common context. When civil law scholars, equity courts, or common law writers cite "De Verborum Significatione," they are pointing to Digest 50.16 as interpretive authority for the meaning of a Latin legal term. This was standard practice in English ecclesiastical courts, admiralty, and early equity jurisprudence, where Roman law supplied the working vocabulary. Researchers working in those bodies of doctrine should treat the phrase as a signal to consult the Digest text directly.
The phrase also appears as a structural label. Statutory drafters and treatise writers from the 16th through 19th centuries occasionally titled their definitions sections "De Verborum Significatione" or abbreviated forms thereof, particularly in works written in Latin or heavily influenced by civilian methodology. Bracton's De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae and later institutional writers in the Scottish and continental traditions follow this convention. Recognizing the label prevents researchers from mistaking a definitions section for substantive doctrine.
Because Digest 50.16 is itself a compilation rather than a unified text, its entries vary in authority and sometimes conflict. The jurists excerpted — including Ulpian, Paulus, Pomponius, Gaius, Scaevola, Javolenus, Celsus, Alfenus, Florentinus, and Callistratus — wrote across different periods and did not always agree. Medieval glossators and commentators added further layers of interpretation. When a source cites De Verborum Significatione for a definition, researchers should verify which jurist's fragment is being invoked and whether later commentary modified its meaning.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill and Black's second edition are in close agreement on the core description: both identify De Verborum Significatione as a title of the Digests at Book 50, Title 16, and both characterize it as consisting entirely of definitions drawn from Roman juristic writing. Burrill's entry is the more informative of the two, naming the contributing jurists explicitly — Ulpian, Paulus, Pomponius, Gaius, Scaevola, Javolenus, Celsus, Alfenus, Florentinus, and Callistratus — which is useful for researchers tracing the source of a particular definition.
Black's second edition entry appears to be an abbreviated version, ending with what looks like an editorial artifact ("ee"), suggesting truncation in the source text. Researchers should treat Black's entry here as a pointer only and rely on Burrill or direct consultation of the Digest for substantive content.
Neither dictionary addresses the secondary usage of the phrase as a section heading in later treatises and statutes. Researchers should not assume the phrase always refers to Digest 50.16 in context; the surrounding document will determine which usage applies.
Jurisdictional Note
De Verborum Significatione as a Digest title has no direct force in any common law jurisdiction, but it was regularly cited as persuasive authority in English admiralty, ecclesiastical, and early equity proceedings, as well as in Scottish and mixed civil law jurisdictions. Its influence on American law is largely indirect, mediated through equity and admiralty practice inherited from English courts.