Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

JadziaDax · 09-18-2003, 01:23 AM

The Word of the Day for September 18 is:

de minimis • \dee-MIH-nih-miss\ • (adjective) lacking significance or importance; so minor as to merit disregard

A little more information about today’s word:
Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of "de minimis non curat lex" ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for awhile, but use of "de minimis" on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, "de minimis" leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large.

My sentence:
"The likelihood that I’m going to win the lottery is de minimis," said the struggling young law student, "so I don’t expect to be buying that luxury yacht I’ve got my eye on anytime soon."

Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition.

Next sentence?

09-18-2003, 01:23 AM	#81 (permalink)
JadziaDax Loser Location: who the fuck cares?	Word of the day September 18 The Word of the Day for September 18 is: de minimis • \dee-MIH-nih-miss\ • (adjective) lacking significance or importance; so minor as to merit disregard A little more information about today’s word: Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of "de minimis non curat lex" ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for awhile, but use of "de minimis" on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, "de minimis" leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large. My sentence: "The likelihood that I’m going to win the lottery is de minimis," said the struggling young law student, "so I don’t expect to be buying that luxury yacht I’ve got my eye on anytime soon." Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 10th Edition. Next sentence?