Jointly
Jointly and severally. In a manner such that each party to an agreement has liability for the entire obligation.
Various
Various and sundry. Many and various.
Cancel
Cancel and set aside. Synonyms or near-synonyms used in requests to vacate (void) previous judgments, court orders or other filings.
Extent
Extent and limits. In property law, the scope of a conveyance: the boundaries of the property and any restrictions on use.
Undertake
Undertake and agree. To promise, per agreement between or among the parties.
Sale
Sale and transfer. Sale of the property where a business is located and transfer of the right to operate the business.
Good
Good and sufficient. Justifiable or defensible, as in “good and sufficient cause” or “good and sufficient reason.” For example, good and sufficient reasons for disputing parties to be absent from court sessions may be defined as force majeure events, accidents, hospitalization, death of a family member, etc.
Devise
Devise and bequeath. To leave via a will. A devise refers to real property; a bequest refers to personal property.
Habit
Habit and repute. Cohabitation with habit and repute is an archaic legal reference to what is called common law marriage in the US, i.e., such a marriage was constituted when the parties agreed to live together as husband and wife and were generally reputed to be married amongst those who knew them well. In Scots law, “habit and repute” also refers to the condition of being notorious enough to afford strong and generally conclusive evidence of something.
Accord
Accord and satisfaction. A method of settling an unliquidated debt without satisfying the financial obligation.
Breaking
Breaking and entering. Also called burglary and housebreaking, the act of illegally entering a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offense.
Made
Made and provided. Indictments traditionally end with “against the form of the statute in such case made and provided,” indicating that the alleged conduct contravenes the statute(s) previously cited.
Will
Will and testament. A legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distribution.
Butts
Butts and bounds. Abutments and boundaries, the boundary lines delineated between plots of land, usually those which define the end of an estate.
If
If and when. At the time of an event, contingent on that event happening at all.
Terms
Terms and conditions. A pair of synonyms or near-synonyms referring to provisions forming part of a contract.
New
New and novel. Never before seen and not anticipated. Often used in patent law.
Demise
Demise and lease. Near-synonyms, as a demise is a conveyance of real property via will or lease.
Pay
Pay and discharge. Frequently used in reference to debt. A discharge is the release of a legal obligation to pay a debt. Paying the debt is one way to discharge the debtor’s obligation.
Object
Object and purpose. Two elements used in the interpretation of treaties per the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties adopted by the UN in 1969.
Keep
Keep and perform. Honor; obey. Example: “… and shall keep and perform each and every covenant herein contained on the part of the mortgagor to be kept and performed …”
Final
Final and conclusive. Binding, decisive.
Able
Able and willing. Legally eligible to execute a legal contract without external influence. Also found as “willing and able” and “ready, willing and able.”
Repair
Repair and make good. Partially overlapping terms. “Make good” has different meanings in different contexts. For example, a lease may require the tenant to make good the premises by returning it to the landlord clean and in good repair and condition, taking into account fair wear and tear.
Cases
Cases and circumstances. A circumstance is an accessory fact that attends upon, closely precedes or follows, surrounds and accompanies, depends upon, or supports or qualifies a principal act that is the subject of an investigation. A case is a specific situation.
Agree
Bequeath
Bounds
Circumstances
Conclusive
Conditions
Discharge
Entering
Lease
Limits
Make good
Novel
Perform
Provided
Purpose
Repute
Satisfaction
Set aside
Severally
Sufficient
Sundry
Testament
Transfer
When
Willing
Correct!
Incorrect
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In many cases, the two elements of the pair are either synonyms or near-synonyms, e.g., “null and void.”
While at first blush this practice may seem odd, the use of doublets came about after the Norman conquest of England as the country transitioned from using Old English in legal documents to using Latin and Law French. To ensure all parties to an agreement understood their legal obligations, lawyers decided to duplicate some terms, using one English word and its linguistic counterpart in Law French or “Frenchified” Latin.
Over time, everyday English absorbed some 10,000 Norman French words as it evolved into Middle English, and both language and culture evolved past the point where most things could be specifically identified as having Anglo-Saxon or Norman French origins. Even so, the use of legal doublets continues.