Definition
A Latin adverb meaning "in such a manner" or "so," derived from *talis* (such). In old common law pleading, *taliter* appeared in formal recitals used to summarize prior proceedings — most characteristically in the phrase *taliter processum est* ("it was so proceeded," or "the proceedings were thus"), which introduced a compressed narrative of what had taken place in an earlier stage of a case.
The term functioned as a linking word in pleadings and records, signaling that the procedural history preceding the current step was being acknowledged or incorporated by reference in summary form, rather than restated in full.
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Why It Matters in Research
*Taliter* is primarily an artifact of formal Latin pleading and will appear in pre-nineteenth-century court records, writs, and plea rolls rather than in modern legal instruments. Researchers working in early English common law records — particularly Year Books, plea rolls, or treatises on common law practice — will encounter it as part of boilerplate recital language.
The critical research trap is misreading *taliter processum est* as substantive procedural content. It is formulaic shorthand, not a record of specific acts. When transcribing or translating early records, treat it as a structural marker indicating that prior proceedings are being acknowledged en bloc, and look to surrounding text for the actual substance.
Because the term carries no operational meaning in modern practice, it does not appear in contemporary legal databases except in historical reproductions or scholarly commentary on old pleading forms. Researchers using full-text searches in historical document corpora should search the full phrase *taliter processum est* rather than the isolated adverb, which is likely to surface false positives from other Latin constructions.
No meaningful jurisdictional variation applies — the term belongs to a shared Latin pleading tradition across common law courts and has no living variant in any modern jurisdiction.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Burrill's Law Dictionary is the sole shelf source for this term and provides a concise, accurate definition: "In such a manner; so," with the illustrative phrase *taliter processum est*. Burrill correctly situates the term in "old pleading," signaling its obsolescence in active practice by the time of his writing.
No other standard historical dictionaries in the Law Mind corpus carry a dedicated entry for *taliter*, which reflects how narrowly the term functioned — it was a pleading convenience, not a term of art with doctrinal weight. Researchers should not expect Black's or Bouvier's to offer additional depth.
The honest limit of the historical record here is that *taliter* entries tell you what the word means but not how courts actually deployed the formula in context. For that, primary sources — especially Blackstone's commentary on pleading forms, Chitty's *Treatise on Pleading*, and original plea rolls — will be more instructive than any dictionary entry.
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