Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Law) An incidental and collateral opinion uttered by a judge. See
dictum , n., 2 (a).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun law a statement or remark in a court's
judgment that is not essential to thedisposition of the case.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an opinion voiced by a judge on a point of law not directly bearing on the case in question and therefore not binding
- noun an incidental remark
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Latin, something said in passing : obiter, in passing + dictum, something said, from neuter past participle of dīcere, to say.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Latin “a saying by the way”
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Examples
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hernesheir commented on the word obiter dictum
Thanks for listing this, by the way.
June 9, 2010