Definition
In legal usage, "definition" carries its ordinary logical and linguistic meaning: a statement that describes a thing by its essential properties or explains the meaning of a word or term. It has no specialized legal content of its own. Its importance in law is functional — definitions appear as operative provisions in statutes, contracts, regulations, and judicial opinions, and they govern how all other terms in those instruments are interpreted and applied. When a legal document contains a definitions section, those definitions are controlling within that document and may deliberately depart from ordinary or dictionary meaning.
There are two practical senses in which "definition" appears in legal research:
1. Definitional provisions: Explicit definitions set out in a statute, contract, or regulation that fix the meaning of terms used throughout that instrument. These operate as binding interpretive rules within their context.
2. Judicial definition: The act by a court of stating the authoritative meaning of a legal term — either by adopting a standard formulation, distinguishing competing meanings, or construing a term as used in the instrument before it.
Anderson's Dictionary of Law offers a third functional sense specific to criminal law: a definition of a crime is an enumeration of the particular acts included under that offense's name. This usage is common in both statutory and common-law contexts, where defining a crime means specifying its elements.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A statement of the meaning of a word, word group, sign, or symbol; especially a dictionary definition. Also: a statement expressing the essential nature of something; the act of defining; the action or power of describing or explaining.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): A description of a thing by its properties; an explanation of the meaning of a word or term. "Definition being nothing but making another understand by words."
The common-language definitions closely track the legal ones here. The meaningful gap is not in what "definition" means but in what a definition does: in ordinary usage, a definition is descriptive and approximate. In legal instruments, a definition is operative and controlling — it may expand, contract, or entirely displace ordinary meaning, and a reader who ignores a statutory definitions section in favor of the dictionary meaning may misread the law entirely.
Common Confusion
DEFINITION VS. DESCRIPTION VS. CONSTRUCTION
"Definition," "description," and "construction" are sometimes used loosely as interchangeable. In legal usage they are distinct. A definition fixes meaning by enumeration or essential property. A description identifies a particular thing without fixing the category. Construction is the interpretive process courts use to determine meaning when a definition is absent or ambiguous. A well-drafted statute defines terms; a court construes them when the definition is unclear or missing.
Why It Matters in Research
The term "definition" is among the most frequently encountered words in legal sources, yet it is rarely the subject of its own legal analysis. For researchers using the Law Mind corpus, several navigational points matter.
First, statutory definitions sections require independent attention. Modern legislation routinely contains a dedicated definitions provision — often section 2 or section 101 — that governs the entire act. Historical statutes did so less systematically. When reading older statutory materials, researchers should not assume a term carries its natural meaning; courts frequently struggled to determine whether a word was used technically or ordinarily when no definitions section existed.
Second, the gap between a document's definition and the dictionary definition is a recurring litigation issue. Tax law, securities regulation, and criminal statutes are particularly prone to definitional terms that diverge sharply from common usage. Research in these areas requires checking the applicable statutory or regulatory definition before consulting general sources.
Third, the Law Mind corpus contains encyclopedia articles built around definitions of specific legal concepts — including negligence, offer, and adjusted gross income — and those articles should be consulted alongside any dictionary entry for the underlying term. The definition of a concept and the content of that concept are different research problems.
Fourth, judicial definitions in older cases may not reflect current statutory meaning. Courts historically defined terms in the absence of legislative guidance, and those common-law definitions have sometimes been superseded by statute or amended regulation without being expressly overruled. Researchers should verify whether a judicial definition predates controlling statutory language.
Fifth, contract definitions sections in commercial instruments function as private law between the parties. The word "affiliate," "material adverse change," or "business day" may mean something in a specific agreement that differs from its industry meaning, its statutory meaning, and its dictionary meaning simultaneously.
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical sources treat "definition" briefly and consistently, reflecting its status as a general logical concept rather than a term of art requiring specialized legal explanation.
Black's Law Dictionary (1st and 2nd editions) give near-identical entries: "a description of a thing by its properties; an explanation of the meaning of a word or term," followed by attribution to Webster and Worcester. The second edition adds three case citations, indicating that courts had been called on to address what constitutes an adequate legal definition, but the dictionary itself does not elaborate on the doctrine. The case references (Warner v. Beers, Marvin v. State, Mickle v. Miles) reflect disputes about whether a given statutory or judicial formulation was sufficiently precise.
Rapalje & Lawrence trace the Latin roots (de and finis — a bound or limit) and then reproduce the same Webster and Worcester formulations. The etymological note is useful: definition in its original sense is an act of bounding or limiting, which aligns with the legal function of definitional provisions that constrain interpretation.
Anderson's Dictionary of Law offers the most distinctively legal observation among the sources, framing definition in terms of enumeration of included acts — particularly relevant to the criminal law context where the elements of an offense constitute its definition.
Burrill's Law Dictionary cross-references only to "Definitio," the Latin form, without independent elaboration. The Latin legal maxim tradition treated definitio as inherently dangerous ("omnis definitio in iure civili periculosa est" — every definition in civil law is dangerous), a caution that legal definitions inevitably exclude cases that should be included or include cases that should be excluded. This historical skepticism toward rigid definitions influenced common-law courts' preference for case-by-case development over legislative enumeration, a tension that persists in statutory interpretation debates.
The historical sources collectively agree on the core meaning and provide no conflicting definitions. What they do not address — because it was less systematized in their era — is the modern practice of dedicated definitions sections in complex legislation and regulatory codes, and the interpretive rules governing their application.
Jurisdictional Note
Statutory construction rules governing how definitions provisions are applied vary by jurisdiction. Many U.S. jurisdictions have general statutory construction acts specifying that defined terms in a statute apply throughout that statute unless context otherwise requires. Federal courts apply similar presumptions under rules of statutory interpretation. Researchers working across jurisdictions should not assume that a definition in one jurisdiction's statute informs the meaning of the same term in another.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Law Mind Torts & Personal Injury Encyclopedia: Negligence — Definition, Elements, and Overview
The Law Mind Contracts & Commercial Law Encyclopedia: Contracts — Offer (Definition, Requirements, and Duration)
The Law Mind Tax Encyclopedia: Adjusted Gross Income Definition and Significance