Definition
A Latin term from Roman law meaning, at its most basic, to ask or solicit. In legal usage, *rogare* carries two related but distinct senses:
1. **To propose legislation.** *Rogare legem* — literally, to ask for a law — meant to formally propose a measure for enactment, the equivalent of introducing a bill. The magistrate or official who brought the proposal before the assembly was the one who *rogabat legem*.
2. **To vote for or enact legislation.** In its derivative sense, *rogare* extended to the act of voting in favor of the proposed law, and by further extension, to the adoption or enactment of the measure itself. The same root thus encompasses both the initiation of a legislative proposal and its successful passage.
The term is not a feature of Anglo-American common law and appears in legal literature almost exclusively in the context of Roman law, Roman legislative procedure, or the civil law tradition.
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Common Language
**Modern common usage (Wiktionary):** *Rogare* is a Latin infinitive meaning "to ask," "to request," or "to question." In modern Romance languages descended from Latin, the root survives in words meaning to ask or entreat.
**Historical common usage (Webster's 1913):** Webster's 1913 does not carry a standalone entry for *rogare*, reflecting its status as a Latin term rather than an anglicized word.
The gap worth noting is that the ordinary Latin sense — a simple request or question — understates the formal, procedural weight the term carried in Roman public law. In the legislative context, *rogare legem* was not a casual petition but a defined institutional act performed by a magistrate with authority to convene the assembly. Researchers encountering the term in civil law or Roman law sources should read it in its procedural, not conversational, register.
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Why It Matters in Research
*Rogare* is a term of art for researchers working in Roman law, the civil law tradition, or comparative legal history. Several navigational points apply:
**Legislative procedure connection.** The term sits at the center of Roman legislative terminology. Understanding *rogare* unlocks related vocabulary — *rogatio* (the formal bill or proposal itself), *rogator* (the proposing magistrate), and *abrogare*, *derogare*, *obrogare*, and *subrogare* — all of which describe modifications to or repeals of existing law. Researchers tracing the etymology and historical meaning of terms like ABROGATE or SUBROGATE will find *rogare* as the shared root.
**Civil law tradition.** In jurisdictions shaped by the civil law tradition, including commentaries, glosses, and treatises drawing on Roman sources, *rogare* and its derivatives appear frequently. Researchers using Law Mind sources covering civilian legal systems, Roman law, or canon law should recognize the term on sight.
**False friends.** The derivative senses of *rogare* can confuse. A reader unfamiliar with the Roman legislative context might read *rogare legem* as merely asking about a law rather than formally proposing one. The shift from "to ask" to "to legislate" is not intuitive and is easy to misread in translation.
**Absence from common law sources.** *Rogare* does not appear as a substantive term in English common law dictionaries or statutes. Its presence in a source is almost always a signal that the source is engaging with Roman or civil law materials, which itself is useful contextual information when dating or characterizing a document.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Both Black's Law Dictionary and its second edition carry nearly identical entries, treating *rogare* concisely and consistently. Both define the primary sense as "to ask or solicit" and identify *rogare legem* as the act of proposing a law for enactment — introducing a bill — with the derivative sense of voting for or adopting the law.
The entries are accurate as far as they go, but they are compressed. Neither source explains the institutional context: in the Roman Republic, the right to *rogare legem* was confined to magistrates with appropriate authority (*ius agendi cum populo*), making the act a formal exercise of public power rather than a general right of petition. This procedural dimension, while beyond the scope of a dictionary gloss, matters for researchers trying to understand references to *rogare* in detailed treatments of Roman constitutional law.
Neither edition diverges meaningfully from the other. The slight variation in punctuation and abbreviation between the two editions is editorial, not substantive.
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Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia: *Roman Legislative Procedure*; *Civil Law Tradition*.
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