brocard

B3R1O1C3A1R1D2
UK/ˈbɹəʊkəd/UK/ˈbɹəʊkɑːd/US/ˈbɹoʊkɚd/US/ˈbɹoʊkɑrd/

noun

A legal principle usually expressed in Latin, traditionally used to concisely express a wider legal concept or rule.

RareScrabble 12

Meanings

brocard1

nounbrocard (plural brocards)

plural brocards

  1. lawA legal principle usually expressed in Latin, traditionally used to concisely express a wider legal concept or rule.

    The other question was as to the proper legal meaning of the brocard, “heres heredis mei est heres meus.”

    1860, “The Journal of Jurisprudence”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume IV, Edinburgh, page 414
    1 more example

    Blackstone, with a like tenderness of conscience, endeavors to withdraw a single case, a sale of provisions, from the old brocard caveat emptor, and tells us that in such a contract there is a warranty that the provisions are wholesome.

    1853, Samuel Owen, “The New York Legal Observer”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume XI, pages 73–4

Brocard2

proper noun

Origin

  1. Frenchbrocard
  2. Englishbrocard

From French brocard, cognate with Medieval Latin brocarda, brocardicorum opus, a collection of canonical laws written by the bishop Burchard of Worms.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French brocard
  • brocardA legal principle usually expressed in Latin
German Rechtssprichwort
  • RechtssprichwortA legal principle usually expressed in Latin

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

Cite this entry
APA

brocard. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brocard

MLA

“brocard.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brocard. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brocard,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brocard.

Source: brocard on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.