In old English law. A lord or earl of the marches, who was the warden and defender of his country. Cowell.

In English ecclesiastical law. A species of pleading, wherethe defendant, instead of denying the plaintiff’s charge uj>on oath, has any circumstancesto offer in his defense. This entitles him, in his turn, to

A war in defense of, or for the protection of, national rights. Itmay be defensive iu its principles, though offensive in its operations. 1 Kent, Comm. 50, note.

That part of any open field or place that was allotted for corn or hay, andupon which there was no common or feeding, was anciently said to be in defenso; so ofany

In the civil law. A defender; one who assumed the defense of another’scase in court. Also an advocate. A tutor or curator.In canon law. The advocate or patron of a church. An

Defender or protector of a city or municipality. An oflicer under theRoman empire, whose duty it was to protect the people against the injustice of themagistrates. the insolence of the subaltern officers,

Defender of the faith. See DEFENDEB

An inclosure of land; any fenced ground. See DEFENSO.

In English law. Annuities for the life of the purchaser, but notcommencing until a date subsequent to the date of buying them, so that, if thepurchaser die before that date, the purchase

A lack, shortage, or insufficiency. The difference between the totalamount of the debt or payment meant to be secured by a mortgage and that realizedon foreclosure and sale when less than the

In parliamentary practice, an appropriation bill covering items of expenseomitted from the general appropriation bill or bills, or for which insufficientappropriations were made. If intended to cover a variety of such items,

One blood being wanting, he cannot be heir. But see 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 100,

Something wanting, generally in the accounts of one intrusted withmoney, or in the money received by him. Mutual L. & B. Ass’n v. Price, 19 Fla. 135.

To debauch, deflower, or corrupt the chastity of a woman. The term doesnot necessarily imply force or ravishment, nor does it connote previous immaculateness.State v. Montgomery, 79 Iowa, 737. 45 N. W.

To explain or state the exact meaning of words and phrases; to settle,make clear, establish boundaries. U. S. v. Smith, 5 Wheat. 100, 5 L. Ed. 57; Walters v.Richardson, 93 Ky. 374,

Lat. Definition, or, more strictly, limiting or bounding; as In the maximof the civil law: Omnis definitio pcricu- losa est, parum est enim ut non subverti pos- sit,(Dig. 50, 17, 202;) I.

A description of a thing by its properties; an explanation of themeaning of a word or term. Webster. The process of stating the exact meaning of aword by means of other words.

That which finally and completely ends and settles a controversy. A definitive sentence or judgment is put inopposition to an Interlocutory judgment.A distinction may be taken between a final and a definitive

The final judgment, decree, or sentence of an ecclesiastical court. 3 Bl. Comm. 101.

Seduction or debauching. The act by which a woman is deprived of her virginity.