OMNIS

4 definitions found across Law Mind sources

OMNISAuthored
The Law Mind • 711 words
Definition
A Latin term meaning "all," "every," or "the whole." In legal usage, *omnis* appears almost exclusively as a prefix or component in Latin maxims and brocard phrases rather than as a standalone operative term. It is the root from which numerous legal compounds derive their meaning, including *omnia* (all things, neuter plural) and the prefix *omni-* found in terms such as *omnibus*. When encountered in historical legal texts, *omnis* signals a universalizing proposition — a statement intended to apply without exception across persons, things, or circumstances. The term is not itself a doctrine or rule of law. Its significance lies in understanding the Latin maxims in which it appears and in recognizing the scope claim those maxims carry.
Common Confusion
*Omnis* is regularly confused with *omnia* (neuter plural, meaning "all things") and with the English prefix *omni-*. The distinctions are grammatical rather than substantive: *omnis* modifies masculine or feminine nouns, *omnia* modifies neuter nouns or stands alone as a noun meaning "all things." In legal maxims, both forms appear, and researchers should not assume a difference in legal meaning based solely on the grammatical variation. The practical confusion arises when researchers search historical indexes or digests using only one form and miss maxims employing the other.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers encounter *omnis* not as a term to be looked up but as a flag — its presence in a maxim announces that the drafter intended the principle to operate universally. Understanding this helps assess the weight courts historically assigned to a maxim. Brocard phrases beginning with *omnis* or *omne* were often invoked to state foundational propositions (e.g., *Omne jus aut consensus fecit, aut necessitas constituit, aut firmavit consuetudo* — "Every right is either made by consent, constituted by necessity, or established by custom"). Courts cited these not as binding rules but as organizing principles that framed legal reasoning. The navigational trap in historical sources is that Latin maxim collections index entries inconsistently — sometimes under the first noun, sometimes under the operative verb, and sometimes under a key concept word. A researcher looking for maxims about consent, necessity, or custom may not find the relevant brocard unless they also search under *omnis/omne/omnia* constructions. Rapalje & Lawrence and similar Latin-maxim dictionaries reward lateral searching. A secondary research trap: because *omnis* universalizes, courts occasionally used maxims containing it to argue for absolute rules, then distinguished those rules in application. The gap between the maxim's stated universality and its actual judicial treatment is a recurring feature of common law reasoning. Noticing *omnis* in a historical argument alerts the researcher to look for the qualifying case law that followed. For corpus researchers working in Law Mind, *omnis* connects the Latin maxim shelf to the broader encyclopedia entries on legal presumptions, sources of law, and the authority of maxims generally. The term itself is a gateway concept rather than a terminus.
Historical Dictionary Support
Rapalje & Lawrence provide the maxim *Omne jus aut consensus fecit, aut necessitas constituit, aut firmavit consuetudo* (Digest 1.3.40), translating it as: "Every right is either made by consent, or is constituted by necessity, or is established by custom." They present this as a foundational tripartite taxonomy of legal sources — a framing device rather than an actionable rule. The inclusion of a Digest citation grounds the maxim in Roman law and signals its civil law pedigree, relevant when the same maxim appears in common law texts where its authority is persuasive rather than binding. Anderson's Dictionary of Law does not provide a direct entry for *omnis* as a standalone term. The Anderson source material extracted here addresses a regulatory penalty structure, which appears incidental — likely a fragment from an adjacent entry rather than substantive treatment of *omnis* itself. Researchers should not rely on Anderson for this term; Rapalje & Lawrence is the more useful shelf source for Latin maxim research. Neither dictionary treats *omnis* as a term requiring doctrinal analysis, which is consistent with its function: it is a grammatical element of legal Latin rather than an independent concept generating rules or rights.
Related Terms
Omnia — Omnibus — Omnia praesumuntur — Maxim — Brocard — Consensus — Consuetudo — Necessitas — Sources of Law — Legal Presumption
OMNISmain
Rapalje & Lawrence • 1883
(899) Omne jus aut consensus fecit, aut to recover damages for the detention, their value necessitas constituit aut firmavit was calculated as being that of the finest jewels consuetudo (D. 1, 3, 40): Every right is of the same size. Armory v. Delamirie, 1 Str. either made by consent, or is constituted by 504. necessity, or is established by custom.
OMNISmain
Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890
son who carries on the business of manufacturer without having paid the tax therefor, shall be fined, for each offense, from $1,000 to $5,000; every person who so wholesales, from $500 to $2,000; and every person who so retails, from $50 to $500. Sec. 5. Every manufacturer shall conduct his business under such regulations as the commissioner of internal revenue, with the secretary of the treasury, may require as to notices, inventories, bonds, books of account, signs, surveillance of officers, etc. The bond shall be in a penal sum of not less than $5,000, and may be increased from time to time. Sec. 6. All oleomargarine shall be packed in wooden packages, not before used for the purpose, each containing not less than ten pounds, and marked, stamped, and branded according to the regulations; and all sales by manufacturers or wholesale dealers shall be in original stamped packages. Retail dealers may sell only from such packages, in quantities not exceeding ten pounds, and shall pack in suitable wooden or paper packages, marked and branded as prescribed. A person who knowingly violates this section shall be fined, for each offense, not more than $1,000, and be impris oned not more than two years. Sec. 7. Every manufacturer shall securely affix, by pasting, on each package, a label giving his number, district, and State, that he has complied with the law, and that persons are not again to use the package, or the stamp, nor to remove the contents without destroying the stamp. Neglecting to affix, and removing, the label, are finable $50 for each package in respect to which the offense is committed. Sec. 8. Upon oleomargarine which shall be manufactured and sold, or removed for consumption or use, there shall be collected a tax of two cents per pound, to be paid by the manufacturer. The tax levied shall be represented by coupon stamps, engraved, issued, destroyed, etc., as are stamps relating to tobacco. Sec. 9. When any manufacturer has removed for sale or consumption oleomargarine without the use of proper stamps, the commissioner of internal revenue, within two years at most, upon satisfactory proof, shall estimate, and make an assessment for the amount, and certify the same to the collector. The tax shall be in addition to the penalties imposed by law for such sale or removal. Sec. 10. Regulates importation from foreign countries. Sec. 11-12. The penalty for knowingly purchasing or receiving for sale oleomargarine which has not been branded or stamped is $50 for each offense; and for oleomargarine as to which the special tax has not been paid, $100, with forfeiture of the articles or the value thereof. Sec. 13. Provides as penalties for not destroying stamps upon emptied packages, fines up to $100 and imprisonment not more than one year. Sec. 14. Provides for employing analytical chemists and microscopists, regularly and in particular cases; and for appeals from the decisions of the commissioner of internal revenue to a board of final decision, consisting of the surgeons-general of the army and navy, and the commissioner of agriculture. Sec. 15. Packages subject to tax, without stamps or marks as provided, and oleomargarine adjudged deleterious to the public health, shall be forfeited to the United States. Willfully removing or defacing stamps, marks, or brands on packages regularly taxed, is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $100 to $2,000, and imprisonment thirty days to six months. Sec. 16. Provides for exporting to foreign countries, without payment of tax or stamping, under prescribed regulations, each package being branded "Oleomargarine" in plain Roman letters at least one half an inch square. Sec. 17. Any manufacturer who defrauds or attempts to defraud the United States of the tax shall forfeit the factory and apparatus used, and all oleomargarine and raw material on the premises, and be fined $500 to $5,000, and be imprisoned six months to three years. Sec. 18. For any forbidden act, for which no specific penalty is imposed, the penalty shall be $1,000; if done by a manufacturer or a wholesale dealer, he shall forfeit all the oleomargarine owned by him. Sec. 19. Penalties may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction. Sec. 20. The commissioner of internal revenue, with the approval of the secretary of the treasury, may make regulations needful for carrying the act into effect. Sec. 21. The act shall go into effect on the ninetieth day (Oct. 31, 1886) after its passage. OLERON, LAWS OF. A code of maritime laws, promulgated during the twelfth century from the island of Oleron, off the coast of France. The code was greatly improved, if not indeed wholly compiled, by Richard the First (1189-99), the island being then a possession of England, and became the substructure of the maritime constitutions of all the nations in Europe. 1 L. Every; every thing, every one; all. Omne majus. See MAJOR. Omnia præsumuntur. MERE; SPOLIATION. See PRÆSUOmnia rite. See PRÆSUMERE. Omnibus. For all: containing two or more independent matters. Applied to a count in a declaration, and to a bill of legislation, and perhaps to a clause in a will, which comprises more than one general subject.2 See TITLE, 2, Of act. Omnis definitio. See DEFINITIO. Omnis ratihabitio. See RATIHABITIO. 1 See 1 Bl. Com. 418; 4 id. 423; 1 Chitty, id. 418; Coke, Litt. 2; 3 Kent, 12; 1 Pars. Ship. & Adm. 9; 1 Pet. Adm. R. Ap. See 14 Md. 193; 64 Pa. 428; 107 U. S. 153.
omnisnoun
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.
plural of omni

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