CODICIL

codicil (kod-<<schwa>>-s<<schwa>>l or -sil). A supplement or addition to a will, not necessarily disposing of the entire estate but modifying, explaining, or otherwise qualifying the will in some way. • When admitted to probate, the codicil becomes a part of the will. [Cases: Wills  99.C.J.S. Wills § 214.]

“A Schedule or supplement to a Will, or some other writing; some Writers, conferring a Testament, and a Codicil together, call a Testament a great Will, and a Codicil a little one; and compare a Testament to a Ship, and the Codicil to the Boat tied to the Ship.” Thomas Blount, Nomo-Lexicon: A Law-Dictionary (1670).

“A codicil, from codicillus, a small codex, a little book or writing, may be defined as a writing by the testator intended as a supplement or addition to his will, the effect of which may be either to enlarge or restrict it, or to annul or revoke it altogether. It may add to or subtract from provisions of the will, may explain or alter, confirm or revoke them wholly or in part; or, when the will itself is invalid, may by a valid re-execution and republication revive and renew the will.” 1 H.C. Underhill, A Treatise on the Law of Wills § 7, at 11 (1900). [Blacks Law 8th]