NEU - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

NEUAuthored

The Law Mind • 545 words

Definition

"Neu" is a Latin adverb appearing in classical legal maxims and formulaic expressions. It is a contracted form of neve, meaning "nor," "and not," or "lest also." In legal Latin, neu functions as a negative connective, linking clauses in prohibitory or conditional constructions — typically to extend a prohibition or negative condition from one clause to a second. It appears most often in maxims, where brevity favored the contracted form over the fuller neve.

The term has no independent legal doctrine attached to it. Its significance is purely grammatical and interpretive: understanding neu is necessary to correctly parse the logic of compound Latin maxims, particularly those in the prohibitory mood.

Why It Matters in Research

Researchers encountering neu in primary sources or historical dictionaries will almost always find it embedded within a Latin maxim rather than standing alone. Misreading neu as a substantive term — or overlooking it as mere connective tissue — can cause a researcher to misread the scope of the maxim entirely. A prohibition expressed as "ne... neu..." covers two distinct acts or conditions; treating the second clause as merely illustrative, rather than separately prohibited, distorts the rule.

Burrill's Law Dictionary, like most nineteenth-century legal dictionaries, treats Latin grammatical particles inconsistently. Some are given brief glosses; others appear only as components of longer maxim entries. Neu falls into this gap — it is referenced in passing rather than defined as a standalone entry, meaning a researcher searching for it by name in an index may come up empty even in sources that actually use it.

Because Law Mind's corpus includes a substantial body of Latin maxims drawn from the civil law tradition, neu will surface in Digest-derived materials, common law treatises quoting civilian sources, and maxim collections. The Digest passage cited in Burrill in connection with the surrounding maxims (Dig. 44.1.8) is an authentic source and can be cross-checked against standard editions of the Corpus Juris Civilis.

Historical Dictionary Support

Burrill does not provide a standalone definition of neu but uses it within the body of maxim entries, consistent with its role as a Latin grammatical particle. The Latin dictionary tradition, reflected in Lewis & Short, confirms neu as an adverbial contraction of neve, used in negative commands and purpose clauses to introduce a further negative: "and not," "nor," "lest also." This usage is stable across classical and post-classical legal Latin.

Historical legal dictionaries as a class are more attentive to substantive Latin terms — words carrying doctrinal weight — than to particles and connectives. Researchers should not expect to find neu treated as a defined term in Tomlin, Bouvier, or Black's. Its proper reference source is a Latin grammar or dictionary, supplemented by the context of the specific maxim in which it appears.

NEUmain

Burrill's Law Dictionary • 1870

(229) of a defendant. Id. ibid. This rule is derived from that of the civil law, Nemo prohibetur pluribus exceptionibus uti, quamvis diversæ sint. Dig. 44. 1. 8. Nemo prudens punit ut præterita revocentur, sed ut futura præveniantur. No wise man punishes in order that past things may be recalled, but that future wrongs may be prevented. 3 Bulstr. 173. Nemo punitur pro alieno delicto. No man is punished for the crime of another. Wingate's Max. 336, max. 87. Nemo punitur sine injuria, facto seu defalta. No one is punished unless for some wrong, act or default. 2 Inst. 287. Nemo tenetur ad impossibile. No man is bound to do an impossibility. Jenk. Cent. 7, case 10. Held, on this ground, that when the king's command to the judges was contrary to law, it ought not to be obeyed. Id. ibid. Nemo tenetur armare adversarium suum contra se. No man is bound to arm his adversary against himself; (as to furnish him with an instrument to enable him to state his cause of action.) Bract. fol. 34. An observation of Bracton, which Britton (c. 39,) has rendered in French, Nul n'est tenu de armer son adversarie, and which has passed into a maxim of the common law, though its strictness has been much relaxed in modern practice. Co. Litt. 36 a. Wingate's Max. 665, max. 171. Best on Evid. 487, § 442. Nemo tenetur divinare. No man is bound to divine, or to have foreknowledge of a future event. 10 Co. 55 a. 4 Id. 28. Nemo tenetur edere instrumenta contra se. No man is bound to produce writings against himself. A rule of the Roman law, adhered to in criminal prosecutions, but departed from in civil questions. Bell's Dict. Nemo tenetur informare qui nescit, sed quisquis scire quod informat. No one is bound to give information on a subject of which he is ignorant, but every one is bound to know that which he gives information about. Branch's Princ. nem. Nemo tenetur jurare in suam turpitudiNo one is bound to swear to the fact of his own criminality; no one can be forced to give his own oath in evidence of his guilt. Bell's Dict. See Criminate. harm will excuse the performance of an act in law. Id. ibid. Nemo tenetur seipsum accusare. No one is bound to accuse himself. Wingate's Max. 486. 1 Bl. Com. 443. Nemo tenetur prodere seipsum. No man is bound to betray himself. 1 Greenl. Ev. § 224. Nemo videtur fraudare eos qui sciunt et consentiunt. No one seems [is supposed] to defraud those who know and assent [to his acts.] Dig. 20. 17. 145. NEMY, Nemi. L. Fr. Not. Nemy come heire; not as heir. Litt. sect. 3.

neunoun

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.

Abbreviation of neuroglioblastoma cell line.

neunoun

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

Synonym of HER-2.

Neuname

Wiktionary (English) • 2026

A surname.

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