Definition
"Of new" is a Scots law expression meaning anew, afresh, or from the beginning. It is the functional equivalent of the Latin phrase de novo. In legal contexts, it signals that a proceeding, act, or consideration is to begin again — as if no prior action had taken place — rather than continuing or reviewing from an intermediate point.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Once again; anew.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Not separately defined as a legal phrase; "new" in ordinary English means recently made, not existing before, or fresh.
The ordinary sense of "anew" or "once again" comes close to the legal meaning here, but falls short of capturing the specific procedural implication: that whatever came before is set aside entirely and the matter proceeds as though from scratch. In legal usage, "of new" is not merely repetition — it carries the weight of a complete reset.
Common Confusion
"Of new" is easily confused with an appellate review on the record, where a higher court examines what was done below without starting over. "Of new" — like de novo — means the opposite: the prior proceeding is disregarded and the matter is heard fresh. Researchers encountering the phrase in Scots legal texts or older British materials should not assume it signals mere reconsideration.
Why It Matters in Research
This term surfaces almost exclusively in Scots law sources and in English legal materials that absorbed Scots terminology, particularly before the nineteenth century. Researchers working in colonial American records, early Scottish parliamentary materials, or Anglo-Scots legal treatises may encounter "of new" where a modern source would say de novo or "from the beginning."
The principal research trap is treating "of new" as archaic English phrasing and reading it loosely, rather than recognizing it as a precise term of art equivalent to de novo. Missing this equivalence can cause a researcher to misread the procedural posture of a historical case or document — for example, mistaking a de novo rehearing for a simple reconsideration or appeal on the record.
Because Law Mind's corpus spans multiple centuries and jurisdictions, including Scottish and British imperial sources, researchers should use "of new," "de novo," and "anew" as linked search terms when investigating procedural history in those materials. The term is rare in American legal sources but not entirely absent in early state court records where Scots-trained lawyers or judges were active.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (both the main edition and the Second Edition Supplemental), along with Burrill's Law Dictionary, are in complete agreement: "of new" is a Scots expression that closely translates the Latin de novo. No source offers additional elaboration or distinguishes among potential uses of the phrase. The brevity of all three entries reflects the term's narrow, specialized function — it is a translation note as much as a definition. None of the historical dictionaries addresses how the phrase was actually deployed in Scots procedure, which limits their utility beyond establishing the equivalence. Researchers needing depth on the procedural doctrine should look to de novo directly.