Meanings
- lawA canon of construction under which the questionable meaning of a doubtful word can be derived from its association with other words.
1 more example
Foster v Diphwys Casson (1887) 18 QBD 428, involved a statute which stated that explosives taken into a mine must be in a "case or canister". Here the defendant used a cloth bag. The courts had to consider whether a cloth bag was within the definition. Under noscitur a sociis, it was held that the bag could not have been within the statutory definition, because parliament's intention was referring to a case or container of the same strength as a canister.
Origin
Latin, meaning "it is known from its associates."
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
noscitur a sociis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noscitur%20a%20sociis
“noscitur a sociis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noscitur%20a%20sociis. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “noscitur a sociis,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/noscitur%20a%20sociis.
Source: noscitur a sociis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.