Definition
An obsolete Law French term meaning "due" or, in its variant form DUZE, "twelve." Encountered only in medieval legal manuscripts and the records of early English common law courts, where Law French served as the primary language of pleading and legal writing from roughly the Norman Conquest through the seventeenth century. DUZ in the sense of "due" carried the same force as its modern English equivalent — something owed, proper, or owing — while DUZE in the sense of "twelve" appears in procedural contexts, most notably in references to juries (a jury being composed of twelve persons).
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working in early English legal records, year books, or plea rolls may encounter DUZ or DUZE without ready identification. The risk is misreading DUZ (due, owed) as a proper name or abbreviation, or misreading DUZE (twelve) as an unrelated term. Both errors can distort the meaning of a passage. The distinction between the two senses matters: DUZ appearing in a debt or obligation context signals something owed or properly payable, while DUZE in a procedural context signals the number twelve — almost certainly a reference to jury composition or some other twelve-person or twelve-unit count.
These terms will not appear in modern legal materials. Their relevance is confined entirely to paleographic and historical legal research: transcription of manuscript sources, interpretation of year book entries, and analysis of pre-seventeenth-century pleading records. Researchers who encounter either form should treat them as Law French vocabulary requiring translation, not as technical legal terms with continuing doctrinal significance.
Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary is the sole source among the major historical legal dictionaries to record DUZ and DUZE, attributing both to Kelham's glossary of Law French — Robert Kelham's *Dictionary of the Norman or Old French Language* (1779), a standard reference for Law French terms drawn from the Year Books. Burrill provides no extended discussion, offering only the bare glosses: DUZ = "due" (L. Fr.) and DUZE = "twelve" (L. Fr.). No independent doctrinal content attaches to either entry.
Neither Jacob's Law Dictionary, Bouvier's Law Dictionary, nor Black's Law Dictionary carries entries for DUZ or DUZE, reflecting the terms' status as vocabulary items rather than legal concepts. Their absence from the broader dictionary tradition confirms that DUZ and DUZE were working units of Law French — the linguistic medium of early English law — rather than terms with independent legal significance requiring separate doctrinal treatment. Researchers seeking richer context should consult Kelham directly or work through a comprehensive Law French glossary.