Simple English definitions for legal terms
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A: A is a letter that can mean many things depending on the context. It can be used to represent a hypothetical person, or to show where something is from or who it belongs to. In the world of finance, A can indicate that extra money was paid out or that a company's stock is doing well. In history, A was used as a punishment for people who committed adultery. In ancient Rome, A was used as an abbreviation for certain words in legal proceedings and voting.
Definition: A is a hypothetical person often used in legal documents. It can also mean "from," "by," "in," "on," "of," or "at" in Latin. In Law Latin, it means "with," and in Law French, it can mean "of," "at," "to," "for," "in," or "with." In securities, A can be used to indicate various things, such as cash paid during the year in addition to regular dividends, a yield that may include capital gains and losses as well as current interest, or the American Stock Exchange as the primary market of a firm's common stock. In marine insurance, A can be a rating assigned to ships considered to be in first-class condition. In history, A was a scarlet letter worn as punishment by a person convicted of adultery. In Roman law, A could be an abbreviation for "absolvo" written on wooden tablets by criminal-court judges to indicate a vote for acquittal, or an abbreviation for "antiquo" written on wooden tablets by the participants in a popular assembly to indicate a vote against a proposed bill.
Examples:
These examples illustrate the various meanings and uses of A in different contexts, such as legal documents, securities, marine insurance, and historical and Roman law contexts. A can be used to indicate a hypothetical person, a rating, a transaction, a condition, a punishment, or an abbreviation for a word or phrase.