20190116

10 Legal doublets


Many standardised phrases are used in English legalise. They consist of two (sometimes more) words that are near synonyms. The origin of the doubling - and sometimes even tripling - often lies in the transition from use of one language for legal purposes to use of another for the same purposes, (eg Germanic([Anglo-]Saxon or Old English) to Romance Latin or Law French or, within the Romance subfamily, from Latin to French). To ensure understanding, words of Germanic origin were often paired with words having equivalent or near-equivalent meanings in Latin (reflecting the interactions between Germanic and Roman law following the decline of the Roman Empire or later, Law French (reflecting the influence of the Norman Conquest), and words of Latin origin were often paired with their Law French cognates or outright descendants.

1. Aid and abet
2. All and sundry
3. Care and attention
4. Cease and desist
5. Fit and proper
6. Goods and chattels
7. Have and hold
8. Let or hindrance
9. Null and void
10. Will and testament

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