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compurgation

 - 3 dictionary results

com⋅pur⋅ga⋅tion

  [kom-per-gey-shuhn]
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–noun
an early common-law method of trial in which the defendant is acquitted on the sworn endorsement of a specified number of friends or neighbors.
Origin:
1650–60; < ML compurgātiōn- (s. of compurgātiō), equiv. to com- com- + purgāt(us) (ptp. of purgāre to purge ) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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com·pur·ga·tion   (kŏm'pər-gā'shən)   
n.  A method of trial in which an accused person could summon a specified number of people, usually 12, to swear to their belief in his or her innocence.

[Late Latin compūrgātiō, compūrgātiōn-, complete purification, from Latin compūrgātus, past participle of compūrgāre, to purify completely : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + pūrgāre, to purify; see peuə- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

compurgation

in early English law, method of settling issues of fact by appeal to a type of character witness. Compurgation was practiced until the 16th century in criminal matters and into the 19th century in civil matters

Learn more about compurgation with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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