Standardized phrase used frequently in English legal language
Alegal doublet is a standardizedphrase used frequently in Englishlegal language consisting of two or more words that areirreversible binomials and frequentlysynonyms, usually connected byand, such ascease and desist. The order of the words cannot be reversed, as it would be seen as particularly unusual to ask someone todesist and cease or to have property ownedclear and free rather than the standardfree and clear term.
The doubling—and sometimes even tripling—often originates in the transition from use of one language for legal purposes to another. Situations include in Britain, where a native English term is joined to aLatin orLaw French term, and inRomance-speaking countries, where aLatin term is joined to the vernacular. To ensure understanding, the terms from both languages were retained and used together. This reflected the interactions betweenGermanic andRoman law following the decline of theRoman Empire. These phrases are oftenpleonasms[1] and formirreversible binomials.
In other cases the two components have differences which are subtle, appreciable only to lawyers, or obsolete. For example,ways and means, referring to methods and resources respectively,[2] are differentiable, in the same way thattools and materials, orequipment and funds, are differentiable—but the difference between them is often practically irrelevant to the contexts in which the irreversible binomialways and means is used today in non-legal contexts as a merecliché.
Doublets may also have arisen or persisted because the solicitors and clerks who drew upconveyances and other documents were paid by the word, which tended to encourage verbosity.[3]
Their habitual use has been decried by some legal scholars as "redundant" and "superfluous" in modern legal briefs.[1]
