obiter dictum
an incidental or passing remark, opinion, etc.
Law. an incidental or supplementary opinion by a judge in deciding a case, upon a matter not essential to the decision, and therefore not binding as precedent.
Origin of obiter dictum
1Words Nearby obiter dictum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use obiter dictum in a sentence
"It is an obiter dictum," somebody said to me, apparently thinking that Latin would persuade me.
The assumption in this obiter dictum seemed to be that Rabelais is an obscene writer.
Impressions And Comments | Havelock EllisPurely as an obiter dictum the court discussed briefly the interpretation of the original act in respect to rate-making power.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations | William Z. RipleySeveral decisions not only adopted the obiter dictum of the Osborne case, above described, but proceeded to expand upon it.
Railroads: Rates and Regulations | William Z. RipleyIn the preceding chronicles no mention, I believe, has been made of one little bird that deserves more than a mere obiter dictum.
Birds of the Rockies | Leander Sylvester Keyser
But the judges of the circuit courts know better, and never have enforced that obiter dictum.
British Dictionary definitions for obiter dictum
/ (ˈɒbɪtə ˈdɪktəm, ˈəʊ-) /
law an observation by a judge on some point of law not directly in issue in the case before him and thus neither requiring his decision nor serving as a precedent, but nevertheless of persuasive authority
any comment, remark, or observation made in passing
Origin of obiter dictum
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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