Law Dictionary Definitions

apparatus. See MACHINE. [Blacks Law 8th]

apotheca  (ap-<<schwa>>-thee-k<<schwa>>),  n.[fr.  Greek  apotheke  “store”]  Civil  law.  A repository, as for wine or books. Pl. apothecae. [Blacks Law 8th]

apostolus  (<<schwa>>-pos-t<<schwa>>-l<<schwa>>s),  n.[fr.  Greek  apostolos  “one  sent from    another”]    Hist.    A    messenger,    ambassador,    legate,    or    nuncio.    Pl.    apostoli (<<schwa>>-pos-t<<schwa>>-lI). [Blacks Law 8th]

apostle (<<schwa>>-pos-<<schwa>>l), n. Civil & maritime law. 1. A letter sent from a trial court to an appellate court, stating the case on appeal. 2. The record or papers sent up on appeal. — Also termed apostoli. 3.DIMISSORY LETTERS . [Blacks Law 8th]

apostille  (<<schwa>>-pos-til).  [French  “postscript,  footnote”]  Int’l  law.  A  marginal  note  or observation; esp., a standard certification provided under the Hague Convention for authenticating documents   used   in   foreign   countries.   —   Also   spelled   apostil.   See   CERTIFICATE   OF AUTHORITY(1). [Blacks Law 8th]

a posteriori (ay pos-teer-ee-or-Ior ah pos-teer-ee-or-ee), adv.[Latin “from what comes after”] Inductively; from the particular to the general, or from known effects to their inferred causes <as a legal analyst, she reasoned a posteriori — from countless individual cases to generalized rules that she finally applied>. Cf. A PRIORI. — a posteriori,adj. [Blacks Law 8th]

apostate (<<schwa>>-pos-tayt). A person who has forsaken religion or a particular religion. — Also termed (archaically) apostata (ap-<<schwa>>-stay-t<<schwa>>). [Blacks Law 8th]

apostata capiendo.See DE APOSTATA CAPIENDO. [Blacks Law 8th]

apostasy (<<schwa>>-pos-t<<schwa>>-see).1.Hist. A crime against religion consisting in the total  renunciation  of  Christianity  by  one  who  had  previously  embraced  it.  2.Eccles.  law. Abandonment of religious vows without dispensation. [Blacks Law 8th]

apographa  (<<schwa>>-pog-r<<schwa>>-f<<schwa>>),  n.  pl.[fr.  Greek  apographein  “to copy”] 1.Civil law. An examination and enumeration of things possessed; an inventory. 2. Copies; transcripts. — apographal,adj. [Blacks Law 8th]