CHIROGRAPH

Etymology

Noun

chirograph (plural chirographs)

(legal, historical) A kind of mediaeval document written in duplicate (or more) on a single piece of parchment, then cut across a single word, so that each holder of a portion can prove it matches the others.

(legal, Catholicism) A papal decree whose circulation, unlike an encyclical, is limited to the Roman curia.

(obsolete) The last part of a fine of land; the "foot of the fine".

Source: Wiktionary


Chi"ro*graph, n. Etym: [Gr. (Old. Law) (a) A writing which, reguiring a counterpart, was engrossed twice on the same piece of parchment, with a space between, in which was written the word chirographum, through which the parchment was cut, and one part given to each party. It answered to what is now called a charter party. (b) The last part of a fine of land, commonly called the foot of the fine. Bouvier.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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Coffee Trivia

In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.

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