Etymology

market overt

Today it means: A rule in English law that overrode the general rule that the purported sale of stolen goods would not transfer ownership, if the goods were openly sold at a designated market between sunrise and sunset. Full definition →

Law French market overt ← Anglo-Norman marché ouvert
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The story

  1. Anglo-Norman · calque ofmarché ouvert“open market”
  2. Law French · learned borrowing frommarket overt
  3. English todaymarket overt

Learned borrowing from Law French market overt, a calque of Anglo-Norman marché ouvert (“open market”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.