ELSEWHERE

7 definitions found across Law Mind sources

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ELSEWHEREAuthored
The Law Mind • 868 words
Definition
In another place; in any other place; at or to some other location. As a standalone word, "elsewhere" carries no specialized legal meaning, but in drafting contexts — particularly wills and shipping articles — courts have been required to determine its scope and effect with some precision. In wills: When a testator devises land "in A, B, and C, and elsewhere," the word "elsewhere" has been construed broadly to pass all lands not specifically named, regardless of county or location. The word functions as a residual geographic catchall, sweeping in property that might otherwise fall outside the specific devise. In shipping articles: When a voyage is described as proceeding to a named port "or elsewhere," the word does not expand the voyage without limit. Courts have consistently held that "elsewhere" in this context must be read as either void for uncertainty or as subordinate to the principal voyage identified in the preceding language. The named destination controls; "elsewhere" cannot override it. ---
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): In, at, or to some other place; somewhere else. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): In any other place; as in "these trees are not to be found elsewhere." Also, in some other place, indefinitely, as in "it is reported in town and elsewhere." The common meaning is purely adverbial and directional. The legal significance lies in how courts treat the word when it appears in instruments — wills, contracts, shipping articles — where it functions not as mere description but as a term of scope. Whether "elsewhere" expands or is subordinated to adjacent language turns on interpretive rules that have no counterpart in ordinary usage. ---
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers are unlikely to encounter "elsewhere" as a headword in case law or statute but will encounter it as the word in dispute. Two interpretive contexts dominate the historical corpus, and they pull in opposite directions. In will construction cases, "elsewhere" was read expansively. The Chancery rule — illustrated in the early case cited by Bouvier and attributed to Lord Chancellor King with assistance from Chief Justice Raymond — treated "elsewhere" as equivalent to "wheresoever situated," effectively making it a residual clause for real property. Researchers working with testamentary disputes from the 18th and early 19th centuries should expect this expansive reading to be the default. In maritime and shipping article disputes, the interpretive posture reversed. Federal courts, including in Brown v. Jones, treated "or elsewhere" following a named port as subordinate to the named voyage, on the theory that the contrary reading would make contracts void for uncertainty. Researchers working with admiralty and maritime employment cases from the same period need this limiting canon. The word also appears as a near-synonym for ALIBI in some older usage — Anderson notes the connection directly. In older criminal pleading and records, "elsewhere" may signal that a defendant is asserting presence in another place at the time of the offense. This usage is archaic but may surface in pre-20th-century criminal records. ---
Historical Dictionary Support
The four source dictionaries converge on the core definition — "in another place" — but diverge in the contexts they emphasize. Bouvier provides the most detailed treatment of the testamentary context, recounting the Chancery decision in which "elsewhere" was held to pass lands in a county not named in the devise, with the word equated to "wheresoever situated." This remains the foundational statement of the expansive will-construction rule. Black's (2nd Ed.) gives the most compact and useful entry, noting both the testamentary usage and the shipping-articles rule, and citing Brown v. Jones as authority for the subordination canon in maritime contracts. Anderson's is notable for flagging the connection to ALIBI — the observation that in older usage "elsewhere" carried the sense of "in the possession of the taker" and could signal a defense of presence at another location. This is the most historically distinctive contribution among the four sources and the one most likely to be overlooked by researchers focusing on property or maritime law. Rapalje & Lawrence does not provide a substantive entry for the word itself; the text reproduced appears to be a misplaced or adjacent entry concerning debt recovery under the Statute of Merchants. Researchers should not rely on Rapalje & Lawrence for this term. ---
Jurisdictional Note
The testamentary construction rule and the maritime subordination canon are both products of common law courts and appear consistently in English and early American decisions. No significant modern jurisdictional divergence has been identified for this term specifically, as contemporary drafting practice has largely replaced "elsewhere" with explicit residuary or geographic language. ---
Related Terms
ALIBI — older usage overlap; "elsewhere" as assertion of presence in another place RESIDUARY CLAUSE — functional equivalent in modern will drafting for the testamentary use case DESCRIPTION (in wills) — interpretive context for geographic catchall language SHIPPING ARTICLES — the primary contract context for the maritime subordination rule FIERI FACIAS — appears in the adjacent Rapalje & Lawrence text; not directly related to this term VOID FOR UNCERTAINTY — the alternative interpretive outcome courts applied to unbounded "elsewhere" in maritime contracts
ELSEWHEREmain
Bouvier's Law Dictionary • 1928
In another place. Where one devises all his land in A, B, and C, three distinct towns, and elsewhere, and had lands of much greater value than those in A, B, and C, in another county, the lands in the other county were decreed to pass by the word "elsewhere"; and by Lord Chancellor King, assisted by Raymond, C. J., and other judges, the word "elsewhere" was ad- judged to be the same as if the testator had said he devised all his lands in the three towns particularly mentioned, or in any other place whatever. 8 P. Wms. 56. See, also, Chanc. Prec. 202; 1 Vern. 4, n.; Cowp. 360, 808; 5 Bro. P. C. 496; 1 East 456, As to the effect of the word "elsewhere" in the case of lands not purchased at the time of making the will, see 8 Atk. 254; 2 Ventr. 351. As to the construction of the words " or elsewhere" in ship- ping articles, see 2 Gall. 477.
ELSEWHEREmain
Rapalje & Lawrence • 1888
(437) Edw. 1) c. 18, where a debt is recovered or acknowledged in the King's Court or damages awarded, it shall be in the election of the plaintiff, either to have a fieri facias to the sheriff to levy the debt (see FIERI FACIAS), or that the sheriff shall deliver to him all the chattels of the debtor (saving only his oxen and beasts of the plough), 1), and the one-half of his land, until the debt be levied upon a reasonable price or extent. From the election given to the plaintiff by this statute, and from the entry of the award of this execution on the roll, "quod elegit sibi executionem," the writ of elegit derives its name. (Chit. Gen. Pr. 683; Co. Litt. 289 b.) A creditor who has sued out the writ is called an "elegit creditor." 2. By Stat. 1 and 2 Vict. c. 110, the remedy by writ of elegit was extended to the whole of the debtor's land, including copyholds and lands over which he has an absolute power of disposition (e. g. by appointment). The Statute of Frauds had made it applicable to trust estates. 3. In executing this writ, the sheriff first seizes the chattels and land, and then impanels a jury to inquire as to their respective values. If the chattels are sufficient to satisfy the debt, he delivers them to the execution creditor; if they not sufficient, he also delivers legal (not actual) possession of the lands to the creditor; if the latter cannot otherwise obtain actual possession, he must bring an action of ejectment. are Sm. Ac. 199. While the creditor holds the lands he is called "tenant by elegit," and has a chattel interest in them (Co. Litt. 42a; see CHATTELS); he may obtain an order for the sale of the debtor's interest in them by presenting a petition to the High Court in the Chancery Division. Stat. 27 and 28 Vict. c. 112. See EXTENT; INQUISITION; POSSESSION; SCIRE
ELSEWHEREmain
Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890
In or at another place. the possession of the taker; theft. Compare ALIBI. In a will, will pass land wherever situated." In shipping articles, was construed in subordination to the principal voyage-the words being "to the Pacific ocean, or elsewhere, thence to Boston, with wages payable at Canton." 10
ELSEWHEREadv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
In any other place; as, these trees are not to be found elsewhere. In some other place; in other places, indefinitely; as, it is reported in town and elsewhere.
elsewhereadv
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributors • CC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.
Synonym of somewhere else: in, at, or to some other place.
elsewherenoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributors • CC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.
Synonym of somewhere else: a place other than here.

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