JOINT

10 definitions found across Law Mind sources

See encyclopedia: Child Custody -- Legal Custody vs. Physical Custody →
JOINTAuthored
The Law Mind • 1387 words
Definition
Joint means united, combined, or shared by two or more persons acting together or holding interests together. As a modifier in legal usage, it signals that an obligation, right, interest, or act belongs to or binds multiple parties collectively rather than individually. The term does not carry a single fixed legal consequence — its meaning shifts significantly by context: 1. Joint obligation (contracts): Two or more parties bound together as a single obligor unit. A joint obligation must be enforced against all obligors together; the creditor cannot sue one alone and obtain a full judgment. This stands in contrast to a several obligation, which can be enforced against each party independently, and to a joint and several obligation, which permits both. 2. Joint interest (property): Two or more persons sharing an undivided interest in property. In real property, joint ownership traditionally carries the right of survivorship — the classic hallmark of joint tenancy, as distinguished from tenancy in common. Bouvier's notes that as applied to real estate, the term "involves the idea of survivorship." 3. Joint act or liability (tort): Two or more persons acting together to produce a legal wrong, or held collectively responsible for harm. Joint tortfeasors may be subject to joint and several liability, meaning each can be held responsible for the full amount of the damage regardless of proportionate fault. 4. Joint employment (labor and employment): Two or more employers sharing or co-determining control over a worker's conditions of employment, with potential shared liability for employment law obligations.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): United, combined; done by two or more people or organizations working together. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): The place or part where two things are joined or united; a junction or articulation — as in a timber joint, a pipe joint, or the knee joint. The 1913 definition is almost entirely physical and structural — a joint is where things meet. The legal meaning retains the "union" idea but applies it to persons, interests, obligations, and acts rather than objects. A researcher encountering "joint" in historical legal sources should not import the physical-junction sense; the legal term describes a relationship among parties, not a physical connection.
Common Confusion
JOINT TENANCY VS. TENANCY IN COMMON Both are forms of co-ownership of property, but joint tenancy carries survivorship rights (a deceased joint tenant's share passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant(s), not through the estate), while tenancy in common does not. Historical sources use "joint" in property contexts as a shorthand for joint tenancy with survivorship; the presence or absence of survivorship language is the critical diagnostic.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES - Joint obligation: Collective contractual duty enforceable only against all obligors together. - Joint and several obligation: Collective and individual duty, enforceable against all or any one. - Joint tenancy: Co-ownership of real or personal property with right of survivorship. - Joint tortfeasors: Two or more persons whose combined or concurrent acts produce a single actionable harm. - Joint venture: A business undertaking by two or more parties for a specific purpose, sharing profits, losses, and control — distinct from a general partnership in scope and duration. - Joint employer: Two or more entities sharing or co-exercising control over a worker's employment, each potentially liable for employment law obligations.
Why It Matters in Research
The word "joint" is one of the highest-frequency modifiers in the Law Mind corpus, appearing across contracts, property, torts, procedure, and business organization — and it does not mean the same thing in each. Researchers must resist treating it as a generic intensifier for "shared." In historical contract documents and pleadings, the distinction between a joint obligation and a joint and several obligation had significant procedural consequences: a creditor holding a purely joint bond who sued fewer than all obligors could face a fatal objection. Many older instruments that appear to create only joint liability were interpreted by courts as joint and several under equitable principles or local statute. Check the jurisdiction and period before concluding that "joint" alone limited the creditor's options. In property records, "joint" in historical conveyancing language is almost always a signal of survivorship — look for the four unities (time, title, interest, possession) to confirm joint tenancy. Instruments from jurisdictions that abolished or restricted joint tenancy by statute may use "joint" loosely to mean co-ownership without survivorship, creating ambiguity. In tort materials, joint liability has undergone substantial statutory modification in most U.S. jurisdictions since the tort reform movements of the 1980s and 1990s. Historical sources describing joint and several liability as a default rule may not reflect current law. The Law Mind Torts encyclopedia entries on joint and several liability address this evolution directly. In employment and labor materials, the joint employer doctrine is an area of active legal development. The threshold for what constitutes sufficient joint control has shifted significantly across regulatory and judicial decisions in recent decades; historical treatments are poor guides to current standards. The Bouvier's entry on joint tenants and parceners, and its treatment of joinder in tort actions by and against co-owners, provides useful context for understanding how early American courts handled procedural questions arising from joint interests — particularly in actions involving husband and wife or co-tenants.
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionaries agree on the core definition with unusual consistency: Black's (both editions), Bouvier's, and Burrill's all define joint as "united; combined; undivided; done by or against two or more unitedly; shared by or between two or more." Burrill traces the term to the Latin junctus. The agreement ends when the sources address consequences. Black's second edition begins to develop the distinction between joint and joint and several obligations, noting that a joint bond "must therefore be" enforced against all — a procedural consequence the first edition leaves implicit. Bouvier's provides the most developed treatment of joint interests in property, expressly linking the term to survivorship and cross-referencing estate in joint tenancy and estate in common. The Rapalje & Lawrence and Anderson's excerpts available here do not speak directly to the term joint; the retrieved passages address bankruptcy secured creditors and double jeopardy respectively, suggesting retrieval noise. Researchers should not assume those sources lack relevant material — their treatment of joint obligation and joint tenancy may appear elsewhere in those works. None of the historical sources give sustained attention to joint employment or joint venture as distinct legal categories; those doctrines developed primarily through twentieth-century case law and regulatory interpretation.
Jurisdictional Note
Several states have abolished or significantly restricted joint tenancy by statute, requiring express survivorship language or converting presumptive joint ownership into tenancy in common. On the liability side, most U.S. states have modified or abolished joint and several liability in tort through comparative fault reform legislation; the degree of modification varies widely. Federal labor law and state wage-and-hour laws apply different standards for determining joint employer status.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Vicarious Liability and Joint Tort Liability — Joint and Several Liability (The Law Mind Torts & Personal Injury Encyclopedia) Vicarious Liability and Joint Tort Liability — Partnership and Joint Venture Liability (The Law Mind Torts & Personal Injury Encyclopedia) Joint Employer and Co-Employment Doctrine (The Law Mind Employment & Labor Law Encyclopedia)
Related Terms
joint and severaljoint tenancyjoint tortfeasorsjoint venturejoint employerco-ownershiptenancy in commonsurvivorshipseveral obligationpartnershipjoinder of partiescontributionindemnityright of survivorshipparcenerundivided interest
JOINTmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
United; combined; undivided, done by or against two or more unitedly; shared by or between two or more.
JOINTmain
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910
United; combined; undivided; done by or against two or more unitedly; shared by or between two or more. A “joint” bond, note, or other obligation is one in which the obligors or makers (being two or more in number) bind themselves jointly but not severally, and which must therefore be
JOINTmain
Rapalje & Lawrence • 1888
See value which he has set on it; or if the creditor has realized it at a price exceeding his valuation, he is bound to pay the surplus to the trustee. Bankr. Rules, 1870, rules 99, 100, 101. 4. In administration and windings-up. -The Judicature Act, 1875, § 10, provides that the rules of the bankruptcy law as to the respective rights of secured and unsecured creditors, shall prevail and be observed in the administration by the court of the assets of any person dying insolvent after the commencement of the act, and in the winding-up of an insolvent company under the Companies Act, 1862. The principal effect of this section appears to be to abolish the rule in Kellock's Case (L. R. 3 Ch. 789), so as to compel a secured creditor to deduct the value of his security and prove for the balance of his debt. It also appears to have the effect of depriving a creditor of the right to interest on his debt from the date of the judgment or order of administration, which is treated as equivalent to an adjudication in bankruptcy. (In re Summers, 13 Ch. D. 136.) Whether it entitles the executor (in the case of an administration) or the liquidator (in the case of a company) to purchase the security of a creditor at his own valuation is not clear; taken in its literal meaning the section would not have that effect. It has, however, given rise to many speculations and inconsistent decisions, and a creditor would not be safe in relying on its omissions. 25. Petitioning creditor.-In the law of bankruptcy and winding-up a petitioning creditor is a creditor who presents a petition for adjudication or winding-up. In bankruptcy his debt must amount to £50 (Robs. Bankr. 153, 176; Act of 1879, § 6. See supra, & 3.) In windingup, his debt must exceed £50. Companies Act, 1862, § 80. As to frauds on creditors, see 2. Secured and unsecured. In the law relating to the administration of the assets of bankrupts, companies in liquidation, and insolvent persons or estates, creditors claiming to share in the assets are divided into secured and unsecured. A secured creditor is a person who holds a security on the property of the individual, company or estate, and includes not only persons holding mortgages, charges and liens, but also judgment creditors who have levied execution by seizure of property belonging to the insolvent (Robs. (under commission of bankruptcy). 3 Bankr. 256; Slater v. Pinder, L. R. 6 Ex. 228; Exp. Roche, L. R. 6 Ch. 795; In re (under a judgment). 1 Harr. (N. J.) Printing, &c., Co., 8 Ch. D. 535; Exp. (in statute of frauds). 20 Ala. 732; 1 Evans, 13 Id. 252), or have obtained and Gilm. (III.) 397; 81 III. 186; 11 Hun (N. Y.) served attachment or garnishee orders. 282. In re Watt, W. N. (1878) 70; Silkstone Coal Co., 11 Ch. D. 160; Exp. Schofield, 12 Id. 337; Levy v. Lovell, 14 Id. 234. 23. In bankruptcy.-In bankruptcy, under the English system, a secured creditor is, for the purpose of petitioning for adjudication, proving his debt, receiving dividends, and voting, deemed to be a creditor only in respect of the balance due to him after realizing or deducting the value of his security, unless he gives up his security. If he does not comply with these conditions, he is excluded from all share in the dividends. (Bankruptcy Act, 1869, 22 12, 16, 40.) In order to prevent persons from underestimating the value of their securities, it is also provided that the trustee shall have power to purchase the security of any creditor at the FRAUD; FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES. CREDITOR, (in bankrupt act). 50 Wis. 283; L. R. 1 C. P. 204; L. R. 1 Ex. 91, 100; L. R. 1 Ch. 357; L. R. 2 Ex. 396. Wils. 262. 364. ances). (in the statute of fraudulent convey4 Bibb (Ky.) 166. (in recording act). 1 Gilm. (III.) 187. (in usury law). 9 Cush. (Mass.) 482. (in statute concerning witnesses). 9 Cush. (Mass.) 483. (in a treaty). 3 Dall. 109, 249. CREDITOR HOLDING SECURITY, (in bankruptcy act). L. R. 10 Q. B. 485. CREDITOR IN LEGAL CONTEMPLATION, (is one who has a judgment). 6 B. Mon. (Ky.) 606. CREDITOR OF A CORPORATION, (a stockholder may come in as). 8 Cow. (Ν. Υ.) 387, 392. CREDITOR WHO HAS OBTAINED A JUDGMENT, (in attachment act). L. R. 8 Q. B. 18. CREDITORS' BILL.-A bill in equity filed by one or more creditors, by (687) to present to an ecclesiastical benefice attached to an office in her majesty's gift. 3 Steph. Com. 710. JOP WORK, (synonymous with "lump work"). Penn. (N. J.) 1043. JOBBER.-One who buys and sells goods for others; one who buys or sells on the stock exchange; a dealer in stocks, shares, or securities. new facts in support of his case, and thus puts an end to the pleadings, wholly or to a certain extent. In ordinary cases une reply (q. v.) is a simple joinder of issue on the statement of defence or answer. ACTION; ISSUE, 83; PLEADINGS. See 4. Joinder of error.-In proceedings on a writ of error in criminal cases, the joinder of error is a written denial of the errors alleged in the assignment of errors. JOBBER, (defined). 4 Sandf. (N. Y.) Ch. It answers to a joinder of issue in an ac587, 590. JOCALIA.-Jewels; paraphernalia.- Cowell. (688) joint and several; but the rule is only true to the extent above mentioned. Kendall v. Hamilton, 4 App. Cas. 517. the right of action is vested in two or more ship debt is joint at law, in equity it is persons, so that they must all join in suing upon it, then the bond, covenant, &c., is said to be joint, as opposed to one which is several, namely, where each of the 26. Joint and several.-A liability obligees has a separate interest, and may, may, however, be both joint and several, therefore, sue alone. Whether a bond, so that the creditor may sue one or more covenant or the like, is joint or several, of the debtors separately, or all of them depends much more upon the subjectjointly, at his option. (Dic. Part. 230 et matter than upon the words employed, seq.) And if one of them is compelled to for if each of the obligees has a separate pay the whole debt or more than his prointerest, the right of action will be several, although expressed to be joint and several. A bond, covenant, or the like, entered into with several obligees, cannot be joint or several, at their election, but must be either one or the other. Wms. Fers. Prop. 356. 3. If one obligee releases the obligor, this is sufficient to bar all the obligees; and if one of several joint obligees dies, his interest passes to the survivors. In the case of partners in trade, however, the share of a deceased partner devolves in equity on his personal representatives, and the surviving partners become trustees for them of his share. (Wms. Pers. Prop. 354, 357.) The same rule applies where two or more persons advance money and take the security to themselves jointly. 4. A joint ownership of a chose in action cannot be severed at law by either or both of the obligees, but the parties may make a severance which will be binding in equity. See TENANCY IN COMMON. 5. Joint liability on choses in action.-Two or more persons may be jointly liable to the same debt or demand, and though each is liable for the whole debt, yet they are all considered as together forming one person; they must, therefore, all be sued together, and a volantary release to one will discharge them all. (See RELEASE.) On the other hand, if one of them is compelled to pay the whole debt, he is entitled to contribution from the others to the extent of their shares. (Batard v. Hawes, 2 Ell. & B. 287. See CONTRIBUTION.) On the death of one, his liability passes to the survivors, except in the case of partners, for on the death of a partner, his estate remains liable in equity for all partnership debts then existing. (Wms. Pers. Prop. 360, 364.) Hence, it is sometimes said that though a partnerportion, he is entitled to contribution from the others. (See CONTRIBUTION.) If one of them dies, his estate remains liable in the same way that he was. (Wms. Pers. Prop. 363.) As to the release of such a liability, see RELEASE. 7. In the English law of bankruptcy, when several persons are partner. together, and all become insolvent, the petition and adjudication of bankruptcy against them may be either joint, i. e, embracing all the mombers of the firm, or separate, i. e. confines to each member individually. (Robs. Bank. 572.) When all the members of a firm, qud partners, are adjudged bankrupt, the property of the members which vests in the trustee is divided into two parts, namely: The joint estate, or that of the firm, such as the capital, stock in trade, &c.; and the separate estates consisting of the private property of each partner; and distinct accounts are also kept of the joint or partnership debts, and of the separate debts. This is necessary, because it is a rule that joint creditors (i. e. creditors against the firm) are entitled to have their debts paid in full out of the joint estate, before the separate creditors (i. e. the creditors of each member) can receive anything from the joint estate, while the separate creditors of each partner are entitled to a similar priority of payment out of his separate estate, as against the joint creditors. Id. 583, 609; ex parte Cook, 2 P. Wms. 500; Lind. Part. 1145 et seq.; Read v. Bailey, 3 App. Cas. 94. 8. A joint and several creditor is one for whose debt the firm is jointly, and all or some or one of its members are or is also separately, liable. (Robs. Bankr. 616.) Thus, if A. and B. are trading in partnership under the firm of A. and Company, and a bill of exchange is accepted by A. and Company, and indorsed by A., the holder of the bill would, in the event of A. and B.'s bankruptcy, be a joint and several creditor, and, therefore, entitled to prove against both the joint estate of the firm and the separate estate of A. Ex parte Honey, L. R. 7 Ch. 178. See CONVERSION, 88; PROOF. 29. Land Transfer act. In the case of land registered under the English Land Transfer Act, 1875, "joint proprietors" mean any two or more persons who are registered as being together entitled to land, whether concurrently (e. g. as joint tenants, tenants in common, &c. (689) JOINT, (when a writ is not). 6 Halst. (N. J.) 128. (690) JOINT MAKERS, (of a promissory note, liability of). 6 Cranch (U. S.) 253; 2 Cai. (N. Y.) 121. JOINT NOTE, (what is). 2 Halst. (N. J.) 71. JOINT OBLIGATION, (what is). 1 Rawle (Pa.) 255; 1 Munf. (Va.) 175. JOINT OBLIGEES, (of a bond, how far joint tenants). 1 Harr. (N. J.) 16. JOINT OWNERS, (who are). 4 Dall. (U. S.) 354; 4 T. R. 720. Dig. 317. (equivalent to "partners"). 1 Com. § 2. All law (jus) is distributed into two parts-Jus Gentium and Jus Civile and the Jus accrescendi inter mercatores whole body of law peculiar to any State is its Jus Civile (Cic. de Orat. i. 44). The Roman locum non habet, pro beneficio comlaw, therefore, which is peculiar to the Roman mercii (Co. Litt. 182): The right of survivorState, is its Jus Civile, sometimes called Jus ship does not exist among merchants, for the Civile Romanorum, but more frequently desigbenefit of commerce. nated by the term Jus Civile only, by which is meant the Jus Civile of the Romans. 3. The Jus Gentium is viewed by Gaius as springing out of the Naturalis Ratio, common to all mankind, which is still more clearly expressed in another passage (i. 89), where he uses the expression "omnium civitatem jus," as equivalent to the Jus Gentium, and as founded on the Naturalis Ratio. 34. The Naturale Jus and the Jus Gentium are therefore identical. Cicero (Off. iii. 5) орposes Natura to Leges, where he explains Natura by the term Jus Gentium, and makes Leges equivalent to Jus Civile 25. In the partitiones (c. 37), he also divides Jus into Natura and Lex. 6. There is a threefold division of Jus made by Ulpian and others, which is as follows: Jus Civile; Jus Gentium, or that which is common to all mankind; and Jus Naturale, which is common to man and beasts. The foundation of See JOINT TENANCY. Jus accrescendi præfertur oneribus ac ultimæ voluntati (Co. Litt. 185): The right of survivorship is preferred to encumbrances and to the last will. This maxim has reference to, and forms one of the principal rules affecting joint tenancies.
JOINTn.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
The place or part where two things or parts are joined or united; the union of two or more smooth or even surfaces admitting of a close-fitting or junction; junction as, a joint between two pieces of timber; a joint in a pipe. A joining of two things or parts so as to admit of motion; an articulation, whether movable or not; a hinge; as, the knee joint; a node or joint of a stem; a ball and socket joint. See Articulation. A scaly gauntlet now, with joints of steel, Must glove this hand. Shak. To tear thee joint by joint. Milton. The part or space included between two joints, knots, nodes, or articulations; as, a joint of cane or of a grass stem; a joint of the leg. Any one of the large pieces of meat, as cut into portions by the butcher for roasting. A plane of fracture, or divisional plane, of a rock transverse to the stratification. The space between the adjacent surfaces of two bodies joined and held together, as by means of cement, mortar, etc.; as, a thin joint. The means whereby the meeting surfaces of pieces in a structure are secured together. Coursing joint (Masonry), the mortar joint between two courses of bricks or stones. -- Fish joint, Miter joint, Universal joint, etc. See under Fish, Miter, etc. -- Joint bolt, a bolt for fastening two pieces, as of wood, one endwise to the other, having a nut embedded in one of the pieces. -- Joint chair (Railroad), the chair that supports the ends of abutting rails. -- Joint coupling, a universal joint for coupling shafting. See under Universal. -- Joint hinge, a hinge having long leaves; a strap hinge. -- Joint splice, a reënforce at a joint, to sustain the parts in their true relation. -- Joint stool. (a) A stool consisting of jointed parts; a folding stool. Shak. (b) A block for supporting the end of a piece at a joint; a joint chair. -- Out of joint, out of place; dislocated, as when the head of a bone slips from its socket; hence, not working well together; disordered. "The time is out of joint." Shak.
JOINTa.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
Joined; united; combined; concerted; as joint action. Involving the united activity of two or more; done or produced by two or more working together. I read this joint effusion twice over. T. Hook. United, joined, or sharing with another or with others; not solitary in interest or action; holding in common with an associate, or with associates; acting together; as, joint heir; joint creditor; joint debtor, etc. "Joint tenants of the world." Donne. Shared by, or affecting two or more; held in common; as, joint property; a joint bond. A joint burden laid upon us all. Shak. Joint committee (Parliamentary Practice), a committee composed of members of the two houses of a legislative body, for the appointment of which concurrent resolutions of the two houses are necessary. Cushing. -- Joint meeting, or Joint session, the meeting or session of two distinct bodies as one; as, a joint meeting of committees representing different corporations; a joint session of both branches of a State legislature to chose a United States senator. "Such joint meeting shall not be dissolved until the electoral votes are all counted and the result declared." Joint Rules of Congress, U. S. -- Joint resolution (Parliamentary Practice), a resolution adopted concurrently by the two branches of a legislative body. "By the constitution of the United States and the rules of the two houses, no absolute distinction is made between bills and joint resolutions." Barclay (Digest). -- Joint rule (Parliamentary Practice), a rule of proceeding adopted by the concurrent action of both branches of a legislative assembly. "Resolved, by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that the sixteenth and seventeenth joint rules be suspended for the remainder of the session." Journal H. of R., U. S. -- Joint and several (Law), a phrase signifying that the debt, credit, obligation, etc., to which it is applied is held in such a way that the parties in interest are engaged both together and individually thus a joint and several debt is one for which all the debtors may be sued together or either of them individually. -- Joint stock, stock held in company. -- Joint-stock company (Law), a species of partnership, consisting generally of a large number of members, having a capital divided, or agreed to be divided, into shares, the shares owned by any member being usually transferable without the consent of the rest. -- Joint tenancy (Law), a tenure by two or more persons of estate by unity of interest, title, time, and possession, under which the survivor takes the whole. Blackstone. -- Joint tenant (Law), one who holds an estate by joint tenancy.
JOINTv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To unite by a joint or joints; to fit together; to prepare so as to fit together; as, to joint boards. Pierced through the yielding planks of jointed wood. Pope. To join; to connect; to unite; to combine. Jointing their force 'gainst Cæsar. Shak. To provide with a joint or joints; to articulate. The fingers are jointed together for motion. Ray. To separate the joints; of; to divide at the joint or joints; to disjoint; to cut up into joints, as meat. "He joints the neck. Dryden. Quartering, jointing, seething, and roasting. Holland.
jointadj
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC 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.
United, combined | Done by two or more people or organisations working together.
jointnoun
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC 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.
The point where two components of a structure join, but are still able to rotate. | The point where two components of a structure join rigidly. | Any part of an animalian body where two bones or exoskeleton segments are abutted, in most cases allowing that part of the body to be bent or straightened. | The means of securing together the meeting surfaces of components of a structure. | A cut of meat, especially (but not necessarily) (a) one containing a joint in the sense of an articulation or (b) one rolled up and tied. | The part or space included between two joints, knots, nodes, or articulations. | A fracture in which the strata are not offset; a geologic joint. | A place of business, particularly in the food service or hospitality industries; sometimes extended to any place that is a focus of human connection or activity (e.g., schools, hangouts, party spots). | A place of business, particularly in the food service or hospitality industries; sometimes extended to any place that is a focus of human connection or activity (e.g., schools, hangouts, party spots). | A place of resort for tramps. | A place of business, particularly in the food service or hospitality industries; sometimes extended to any place that is a focus of human connection or activity (e.g., schools, hangouts, party spots). | An opium den. | A place of business, particularly in the food service or hospitality industries; sometimes extended to any place that is a focus of human connection or activity (e.g., schools, hangouts, party spots). | Prison, jail, or lockup. | A marijuana cigarette. | A syringe used to inject an illicit drug. | The penis. | A thing.
jointverb
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC 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 unite by a joint or joints; to fit together; to prepare so as to fit together | To join; to connect; to unite; to combine. | To provide with a joint or joints; to articulate. | To separate the joints; of; to divide at the joint or joints; to disjoint; to cut up into joints, as meat. | To fit as if by joints; to coalesce as joints do.

Explore the full Law Mind legal research platform.

SubscribeEncyclopediaSign In