Lat He gently laid hands upon. Formal words in the old Latin pleas in actions of trespass and assault where a defendant justified faying hands upon the plaintiff, as where it was done to keep the peace, etc. The phrase is literally translated in the modern precedents, and the original is retained as the name of the plea in such cases. 3 Bl. Comm. 21; 1 Chit. PI. 501, 502; Id. 1071.