Discussions about the law often use words that are not used in other settings, and sometimes they use familiar words in new ways.
Definitions of Legal Terms
The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School provides myriad resources about the law, from access to laws and regulations themselves through analyses of legal treatment of many historical and current issues of interest. Here are definitions of commonly used legal terms.
Legal Information Institute (LII), Cornell Law School [www.law.cornell.edu]
Legal Information Institute/Wex
Plain English definitions of legal terms that range, the website brags, from “the common to the bizarre.”
Nolo [www.nolo.com]
Nolo/Everybody’s Legal Glossary
A dictionary of legal terms with an emphasis on those that apply to procedural matters.
Jurist, University of Pittsburgh School of Law [jurist.law.pitt.edu]
Jurist/Browsable Dictionary of Basic U.S. Legal Terminology
A legal dictionary that includes common English words that take on a particular meaning in the legal environment.
Law.com [law.com]
Law.com/Law.com Dictionary
A glosssary of legal terms important in discussions of intellectual property rights.
Fair Use Network [fairusenetwork.org]
Fair Use Network/Legal Jargon & Terminology
Other Glossaries
This website, another resource for a variety of types of information about the law, provides succinct definitions of legal issues rather than terms.
Findlaw.com [findlaw.com]
Findlaw.com/Legal Issues: Definitions
A glossary of terms commonly used in policy-making that are of particular pertinence to those engaged in lobbying and other forms of political advocacy.
NP Action [www.npaction.org]
NP Action/Advocacy Glossary