The Oxford English Dictionary defines Law French (also written law-French) as “the corrupt variety of Norman French used in English lawbooks.” Rather more expansively, the newly issued 12th edition of Black’s Law Dictionary (2024) defines it as “the corrupted form of the Norman French language that arose in England after William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 and that was used for several centuries as the primary language of the English legal system.” Black’s also give a secondary definition: “the Anglo-French used in medieval England in judicial proceedings, pleadings, and lawbooks.”
After the Norman Conquest, the language spoken by the Norman invaders (the newly installed upper class) became the official language of government, diplomacy, and law. By the 1400s, there was a distinct difference between the French used by English lawyers and the French spoken and written in France. Even so, this uniquely British form of French persisted and was used in courts until English became the official language of the courts in 1731.
By then, though, many Law French terms had been fully anglicized:
- amenable, from Old French amesnable
- asset, from Law French assetz “sufficient property”
- assignee, from Old French assigné
- assize, from Old French asise “act of sitting down”
- cestui que trust “the one for whom [is] the trust”
- chattel, from Old French chatel
- cy pres “as near as”
- demurrer “to wait or stay”
- en banc, literally “on the bench”
- force majeure “a superior force”
- misprision “mistake, error, deed,” often spelled mesprison in Law French
- nuisance, often spelled nussance in Law French
- obligor, spelled obligour in Law French, as well as obligee
- ouster, often oustre in Law French
- plead, from Old French plaidier
- puisne, from Anglo-Norman puisné “younger, youngest”
- replevin, often spelled replevine in Law French
- tort “wrong, injustice”
- venue “coming”
- voir dire “to speak the truth”
There are hundreds more—a treasure trove (literally, in Law French, a “treasure found”). Many of these bon mots are so ensconced in English that their origin hardly seems French—unless you use a French plural such as bons mots or a diacritical mark as in très bien.
Further reading:
- Black’s Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024) (passim)
- Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage 520–21 (3d ed. 2011) (entry for “Law French”)