NOW - The Law Mind Legal Dictionary

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The Law Mind • 855 words

Definition

"Now" is a temporal word meaning "at the present time" or "at this moment." In legal instruments, particularly wills and deeds, the word carries a more precise — and context-dependent — meaning that can differ from its ordinary sense. Courts have treated "now" as a term of reference that anchors a description or disposition to a specific point in time, but determining which point requires interpretation of the surrounding instrument.

In wills specifically, two competing constructions have applied: (1) "now" refers to the date the will was executed, or (2) "now" refers to the date of the testator's death. Which construction governs depends on whether the word is used to identify persons, to describe a class of beneficiaries, or to describe property — distinctions that courts have drawn with some care.

In pleadings and procedural documents, "now" traditionally appeared as a formal marker distinguishing the party in the present action from the same party in an earlier or related proceeding — hence the phrase "the now plaintiff," meaning the plaintiff in this action.

Common Language

Modern common usage (Wiktionary): At the present time; also used as an adjective meaning fashionable or current.

Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "At the present time; at this moment; at the time of speaking; instantly" — and also "at a time contemporaneous with something spoken of or contemplated."

The gap between common and legal meaning is not in the core sense of the word but in its precision when embedded in a legal instrument. In ordinary speech, "now" is unambiguous — it means this moment. In a will or deed, "now" is necessarily retrospective by the time it is interpreted, and courts must decide whether the drafter meant the moment of drafting or the moment of the instrument's legal operation. That ambiguity, invisible in everyday use, is a recurring source of litigation.

Common Confusion

Bouvier and Burrill directly conflict on the default construction of "now" in wills. Burrill states plainly that "now" in a will refers to the date of the will, not the testator's death. Bouvier takes the opposite position as the general rule — that "now" in a will is construed to mean the time of the testator's death — but then immediately carves out exceptions where the word is used to identify persons or fix a description of property. Researchers relying on either source in isolation will miss the conflict and the nuance. The correct answer is context-dependent, and neither dictionary's headline rule is universally safe.

Why It Matters in Research

The interpretive stakes around "now" appear almost entirely in will and deed construction cases. Researchers working in that area should treat the word as a flag — its presence in a historical instrument signals a potential dispute about the reference date, which can determine who takes under a bequest or what property is included.

In procedural history, the phrase "the now plaintiff" or "the now defendant" was a standard pleading convention in older common law practice. Encountering this construction in historical records does not indicate anything unusual about the party — it is simply a formal way of distinguishing the party currently before the court. Anderson's cross-reference to NUNC is relevant here: the Latin equivalent carried similar meaning in formal instruments.

Researchers should also note that "now" appearing in older statutes can create interpretive questions of the same kind — does "now in force" or "now existing" mean at the date of the statute's enactment, or at the date of the statute's application to a given case? Courts have handled these questions inconsistently, and the answer often turns on the particular statutory context rather than any fixed rule.

Historical Dictionary Support

Anderson's entry is merely a cross-reference to IMMEDIATELY and NUNC, offering no independent analysis. Burrill gives the clearest rule: "now" in a will refers to the date of the will, citing Jarman on Wills — a foundational treatise on testamentary construction. Bouvier, citing English case authority, gives the opposite default and then qualifies it heavily. The divergence between Burrill and Bouvier is genuine and not merely a matter of emphasis; they state contradictory rules as their primary propositions.

Bouvier's entry trails off mid-sentence in the available text, which is a transcription artifact common in older dictionary sources. The full entry apparently continued with additional exceptions to the death-date rule. Researchers relying on the truncated version should consult a complete edition.

Neither Burrill nor Bouvier addresses the procedural use of "now" as a pleading convention with more than passing notice — Burrill's single example ("the now plaintiff") is the most useful prompt in the historical sources for researchers encountering this construction in older records.

Jurisdictional Note

The will-construction question has been addressed differently across American jurisdictions, and the English authorities cited in Bouvier and Burrill may not reflect the prevailing rule in any given U.S. state. Researchers working on testamentary disputes should locate jurisdiction-specific authority rather than relying on these general dictionary rules.

NOWadv.

Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913

At the present time; at this moment; at the time of speaking; instantly; as, I will write now. I have a patient now living, at an advanced age, who discharged blood from his lungs thirty years ago. Arbuthnot. Very lately; not long ago. They that but now, for honor and for plate, Made the sea blush with blood, resign their hate. Waller. At a time contemporaneous with something spoken of or contemplated; at a particular time referred to. The ship was now in the midst of the sea. Matt. xiv. 24. In present circumstances; things being as they are; -- hence, used as a connective particle, to introduce an inference or an explanation. How shall any man distinguish now betwixt a parasite and a man of honor L'Estrange. Why should he live, now nature bankrupt is Shak. Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now, Barabbas was a robber. John xviii. 40. The other great and undoing mischief which befalls men is, by their being misrepresented. Now, by calling evil good, a man is misrepresented to others in the way of slander. South. Now and again, now and then; occasionally.  -- Now and now, again and again; repeatedly. [Obs.] Chaucer.  -- Now and then, at one time and another; indefinitely; occasionally; not often; at intervals. "A mead here, there a heath, and now and then a wood." Drayton.  -- Now now, at this very instant; precisely now. [Obs.] "Why, even now now, at holding up of this finger, and before the turning down of this." J. Webster (1607).  -- Now . . . now, alternately; at one time . . . at another time. "Now high, now low, now master up, now miss." Pope.