FOR - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

FORAuthored

The Law Mind • 1085 words

Definition

A preposition of broad connective function in legal instruments, statutes, and pleadings. Its legal meaning shifts substantially depending on context. Three primary senses govern legal usage:

1. On behalf of / as agent for. When a person signs a document "for" another, the word imports agency or delegated authority — that the signatory acts not in a personal capacity but as representative of a principal. Courts have examined this usage to determine whether a signature creates personal liability on the signatory or binds only the named principal.

2. Because of / by reason of / in consideration of. Used to denote the cause, motive, or inducement underlying an act. Appears in contracts (consideration clauses), statutory conditions, and pleadings to establish the basis or ground for an action or obligation.

3. During / throughout (temporal sense). When used in connection with a time period — particularly in statutes requiring notice or publication "for" a specified number of days — the word has been construed to mean throughout the entire period, not merely at its commencement or conclusion. Courts have held that a single publication occurring before a deadline does not satisfy a requirement that notice be published "for" thirty days.

A secondary, archaic sense appears in historical French law materials found in the English legal dictionaries: for (from Latin forum) meaning a tribunal or court. Le for intérieur refers to the tribunal of conscience — the internal moral forum. This usage is extinct in modern Anglo-American practice and appears only in civil law and ecclesiastical law contexts.

Common Language

Modern common usage (Wiktionary): A particle marking the following verb as an infinitive ("to"); also broadly, in favor of, or directed toward.

Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): In consideration of, in view of, or with reference to which anything is done; indicating antecedent cause, motive, inducement, or reason.

The gap between ordinary and legal usage is narrow but consequential in two directions. First, the infinitive-marker sense ("for to go") is grammatically ordinary but legally irrelevant. Second, and more importantly, the temporal sense — "for thirty days" meaning throughout an unbroken period — is more demanding than common usage suggests. A lay reader might assume the phrase requires only that an act occur within a window; courts have construed it to require continuity throughout that window.

Common Confusion

The word "for" as a signature prefix is frequently confused with "per," which serves the same agency function. Both signal that a subordinate is signing on behalf of a principal. Courts in older cases sometimes treated them interchangeably, but in modern instrument drafting "for" and "per" have distinct conventional homes: "for" appears more commonly in informal agency contexts; "per procurationem" (p.p.) signals formal, often limited authority. Researchers examining historical instruments should not assume either word conclusively establishes or negates personal liability without examining the surrounding facts of agency.

Why It Matters in Research

The word "for" is a high-frequency term that confounds full-text search across the Law Mind corpus. Researchers cannot productively search for it in isolation — context is everything.

Three specific traps for historical source research:

First, signature liability cases. The 19th-century case law on whether signing "for" a named party created personal liability on the signatory was actively contested and inconsistently decided. Black's 2nd Edition cites cases directly on this point. Researchers tracing agency doctrine through historical instruments must read the full instrument and surrounding authority, not merely note the presence of the word.

Second, statutory construction of temporal requirements. Decisions interpreting "for" in notice and publication statutes — particularly land sale, probate, and foreclosure contexts — show sharp variation by jurisdiction and era. An 1880s Nebraska court may read "for thirty days" differently than an Ohio court reading materially identical language. When researching historical statutory compliance questions, treat any "for [period]" construction as requiring jurisdiction-specific confirmation.

Third, the French law / forum sense. Because several English law dictionaries of the 18th and 19th centuries include the French-derived for (tribunal) in their entries for the English preposition, researchers working in early American and colonial legal texts may encounter the word used in this civil-law sense without contextual signals. The phrase for intérieur was occasionally used in American ecclesiastical and natural law writing. Do not assume the preposition when the civil-law sense may be intended.

Corpus connection: The word "for" frequently appears as a functional element in entries about consideration, agency, notice, and publication requirements. Its treatment in any given historical dictionary entry reflects that compiler's primary concern — Bouvier emphasizes the temporal construction; Black's emphasizes the signature/agency construction.

Historical Dictionary Support

The historical dictionaries approach this term inconsistently, reflecting its status as a common word pressed into varied legal service rather than a term of art.

Anderson's Dictionary of Law offers the most direct treatment: "on account of, by reason of, because of; in behalf of; as agent for" — a useful trifold summary that maps cleanly onto the definition above.

Bouvier's Law Dictionary is the most detailed, expressly flagging the temporal construction ("during") and citing cases on the publication/notice question. Bouvier is the preferred starting point for researchers dealing with statutory compliance issues in 19th-century American materials.

Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Edition) emphasizes the agency/signature sense and provides case citations illustrating the personal liability question. It also preserves the French law sense (le for intérieur), though without clearly distinguishing it from the English preposition — a structural choice that can mislead.

Burrill's and Rapalje & Lawrence do not add substantive coverage of "for" as an English preposition. Their entries drift into adjacent terms (folium, folgarii) — an artifact of alphabetical proximity in their compilation formats. Researchers should not treat these as authoritative on the preposition.

The French forum/tribunal sense, though mentioned across multiple dictionaries, is not a live concept in Anglo-American common law. It belongs properly to civil law and ecclesiastical law discussions of forum and jurisdiction.

Jurisdictional Note

The temporal construction of "for" in notice and publication statutes has produced the most jurisdictional variation. Courts in Nebraska, Ohio, and Kansas are specifically flagged in Bouvier as having addressed the question. No uniform common law rule governs; researchers must consult the relevant state's construction rules when this question arises in historical property or probate work.

FORmain

Black's Law Dictionary • 1891

In French law. A tribunal. Le 2. A large size of book, the page being ob- tained by folding the sheet of paper once only in the binding. Many of the ancient law-for interieur, the interior forum; the tribu- nal of conscience. Poth. Obl. pt. 1, c. 1, § 1, art. 3, § 4. books are folios. 3. In computing the length of written legal documents, the term "folio" denotes a certain number of words, fixed by statute in some states at one hundred. The term "folio," when used as a measure for computing fees or compensation, or in any legal

FORmain

Rapalje & Lawrence • 1888

(528) FOLC-MOTE, FOLC-GEMOTE, or

FORmain

Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890

1. On account of, by reason of, because of; in behalf of; as agent for.4 See

FORprep.

Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913

Cf. Fore, First, Foremost, Forth, Pro-.] In the most general sense, indicating that in consideration of, in view of, or with reference to, which anything is done or takes place. Indicating the antecedent cause or occasion of an action; the motive or inducement accompanying and prompting to an act or state; the reason of anything; that on account of which a thing is or is done. With fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath. Shak. How to choose dogs for scent or speed. Waller. Now, for so many glorious actions done, For peace at home, and for the public wealth, I mean to crown a bowl for Cæsar's health. Dryden. That which we, for our unworthiness, are afraid to crave, our prayer is, that God, for the worthiness of his Son, would, notwithstanding, vouchsafe to grant. Hooker. Indicating the remoter and indirect object of an act; the end or final cause with reference to which anything is, acts, serves, or is done. The oak for nothing ill, The osier good for twigs, the poplar for the mill. Spenser. It was young counsel for the persons, and violent counsel for the matters. Bacon. Shall I think the worls was made for one, And men are born for kings, as beasts for men, Not for protection, but to be devoured Dryden. For he writes not for money, nor for praise. Denham. Indicating that in favor of which, or in promoting which, anything is, or is done; hence, in behalf of; in favor of; on the side of; -- opposed to against. We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 2 Cor. xiii. 8. It is for the general good of human society, and consequently of particular persons, to be true and just; and it is for men's health to be temperate. Tillotson. Aristotle is for poetical justice. Dennis. Indicating that toward which the action of anything is directed, or the point toward which motion is made; We sailed from Peru for China and Japan. Bacon. Indicating that on place of or instead of which anything acts or serves, or that to which a substitute, an equivalent, a compensation, or the like, is offered or made; instead of, or place of. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Ex. xxi. 23, 24. Indicating that in the character of or as being which anything is regarded or treated; to be, or as being. We take a falling meteor for a star. Cowley. If a man can be fully assured of anything for a truth, without having examined, what is there that he may not embrace for truLocke. Most of our ingenious young men take up some cried-up English poet for their model. Dryden. But let her go for an ungrateful woman. Philips. Indicating that instead of which something else controls in the performing of an action, or that in spite of which anything is done, occurs, or is; hence, equivalent to notwithstanding, in spite of; -- generally followed by all, aught, anything, etc. The writer will do what she please for all me. Spectator. God's desertion shall, for aught he knows, the next minute supervene. Dr. H. More. For anything that legally appears to the contrary, it may be a contrivance to fright us. Swift. Indicating the space or time through which an action or state extends; hence, during; in or through the space or time of. For many miles about There 's scarce a bush. Shak. Since, hired for life, thy servile muse sing. prior. To guide the sun's bright chariot for a day. Garth. Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done. [Obs.] We 'll have a bib, for spoiling of thy doublet. Beau. & Fl. For, or As for, so far as concerns; as regards; with reference to; -- used parenthetically or independently. See under As. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Josh. xxiv. 15. For me, my stormy voyage at an end, I to the port of death securely tend. Dryden. -- For all that, notwithstanding; in spite of.  -- For all the world, wholly; exactly. "Whose posy was, for all the world, like cutlers' poetry." Shak.  -- For as much as, or Forasmuch as, in consideration that; seeing that; since.  -- For by. See Forby, adv.  -- For ever, eternally; at all times. See Forever.  -- For me, or For all me, as far as regards me.  -- For my life, or For the life of me, if my life depended on it. [Colloq.] T. Hook.  -- For that, For the reason that, because; since. [Obs.] "For that I love your daughter." Shak.  -- For thy, or Forthy Etym: [AS. for, for this; on this account. [Obs.] "Thomalin, have no care for thy." Spenser.  -- For to, as sign of infinitive, in order to; to the end of. [Obs., except as sometimes heard in illiterate speech.] -- "What went ye out for to see" Luke vii. 25. See To, prep., 4.  -- O for, would that I had; may there be granted; -- elliptically expressing desire or prayer. "O for a muse of fire." Shak.  -- Were it not for, or If it were not for, leaving out of account; but for the presence or action of. "Moral consideration can no way move the sensible appetite, were it not for the will." Sir M. Hale.

FORconj.

Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913

Because; by reason that; for that; indicating, in Old English, the reason of anything. And for of long that way had walkéd none, The vault was hid with plants and bushes hoar. Fairfax. And Heaven defend your good souls, that you think I will your serious and great business scant, For she with me. Shak. Since; because; introducing a reason of something before advanced, a cause, motive, explanation, justification, or the like, of an action related or a statement made. It is logically nearly equivalent to since, or because, but connects less closely, and is sometimes used as a very general introduction to something suggested by what has gone before. Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever. Ps. cxxxvi. 1. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, 't were all alike As if we had them not. Shak. For because, because. [Obs.] "Nor for because they set less store by their own citizens." Robynson (More's Utopia).  -- For why. (a) Why; for that reason; wherefore. [Obs.] (b) Because. [Obs.] See Forwhy.

forparticle

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.

To; (the particle for marking the following verb as an infinitive).

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