Definition
Separately; individually; apart from others. In legal usage, severally describes a relationship in which each person or obligation stands independently, without dependence on the others.
Most commonly encountered in the phrase "jointly and severally," where several parties share a liability or right. When liability is several, each party is independently responsible for the full obligation — a creditor may pursue any one debtor for the entire debt without first exhausting remedies against the others. When liability is joint only, all parties must typically be pursued together.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): "Separately" or, in some uses, "several times, repeatedly."
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "Separately; distinctly; apart from others; individually."
The ordinary English meaning tracks the legal meaning closely — both convey separateness. The gap is one of consequence, not definition. In everyday speech, saying two people are "severally responsible" is an unremarkable description. In a legal instrument, it carries precise, enforceable weight: each obligor's liability is independent, unlimited, and individually actionable. A reader unfamiliar with the legal context may understand the word without grasping its full implication.
Common Confusion
SEVERALLY vs. JOINTLY: These terms are not opposites so much as different modes of obligation that frequently appear together. Joint liability requires all obligors to be sued as a unit; several liability allows a creditor to sue any one alone. "Jointly and severally" combines both, maximizing the creditor's options. Historical sources sometimes use "severally" to mean simply "separately" without signaling anything about liability structure — context determines which sense is operative.
SEVERALLY vs. SEVERANCE: Despite the shared root, these terms are unrelated in legal usage. Severally describes how obligations or interests are held. Severance refers to the separation of claims in litigation, the division of property, or compensation for loss arising from a partial taking. Do not allow the shared etymology to suggest a doctrinal connection.
Why It Matters in Research
The critical research task is identifying the liability structure a document creates, and that turns on whether "severally" appears alone or alongside "jointly." Older instruments and statutes often use the two terms in various combinations — "jointly," "severally," "jointly and severally," and occasionally "jointly or severally" — and the difference between them is legally material.
In historical sources, the word is sometimes used loosely as a synonym for "separately" without carrying the full several liability implication. A nineteenth-century deed, for example, might describe grantees as holding land "severally" simply to confirm their individual shares, with no intent to create independent actionable obligations. The Bouvier entry reflects this dual usage — the adverbial sense (distinctly, separately) alongside the liability sense.
When researching partnership agreements, commercial paper, guaranty instruments, or tort indemnity clauses, verify whether the jurisdiction at issue treats a "several" obligation as carrying the right to contribution among co-obligors, and whether that right must be expressly preserved. Some jurisdictions have modified common law rules by statute.
In property contexts, "severally" appears in descriptions of estates in severalty — ownership held alone, without co-tenants. This is a distinct doctrinal use, not a liability concept, and should not be read through the lens of joint-and-several obligations.
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier's handles the term concisely and usefully. The entry correctly identifies the core meaning (distinctly, separately, apart from others) and the liability implication when applied to persons (each one is liable alone). The paired entry for ESTATE IN SEVERALTY connects the adverbial form to its property law cognate — a useful structural move that the definition alone does not supply.
Webster's 1913 and Bouvier's agree on the primary meaning. Neither source, however, addresses the modern complexity surrounding joint-and-several liability reform. Many U.S. jurisdictions have partially or fully abrogated joint-and-several liability in tort, particularly in the context of comparative fault regimes. Historical dictionary entries written before this wave of statutory reform will not alert researchers to that transformation.
Jurisdictional Note
Joint-and-several liability in tort has been significantly modified or abolished in a majority of U.S. states, with many limiting it to defendants above a threshold percentage of fault or in specific tort categories. Contract law generally preserves the full force of several (and joint-and-several) liability by agreement. Researchers should not assume that the historical common law rule — unlimited individual liability for the whole — remains operative in the tort context of their jurisdiction.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
The Law Mind Property Law Encyclopedia: Eminent Domain — Partial Takings and Severance Damages (property_113) — relevant for the distinct property law context in which severance, not several liability, is the operative concept.