expressio unius est exclusio alterius

phrase

A canon of construction holding that, when a legal document includes a list, anything not in that list is assumed to be purposely excluded.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. lawA canon of construction holding that, when a legal document includes a list, anything not in that list is assumed to be purposely excluded.

Origin

From Latin.

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Cite this entry
APA

expressio unius est exclusio alterius. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expressio%20unius%20est%20exclusio%20alterius

MLA

“expressio unius est exclusio alterius.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expressio%20unius%20est%20exclusio%20alterius. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “expressio unius est exclusio alterius,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expressio%20unius%20est%20exclusio%20alterius.

Source: expressio unius est exclusio alterius on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.