Bob asked: > We didn't hear what Black's has to say about "marriage", but > kindly note that the above says in regard to "intermarriage" that: > "it is *sometimes* used" (emphasis added). Why only "sometimes"? > and what occasioned the use of "intermarriage" or "marriage" in > any give case? [quote from Black's 1951 edition.] > > I, for one, would appreciate a legal explanation of the above > questions. Joan replies: Black's Law Dictionary has been around for several centuries and relates to English law [US follows English law precedent except for Louisiana] As most dictionaries, it changes over time. Intermarry is now rarely used. Two hundred years ago it was commonly used in legal documents. Black's is used by lawyers to chose the right modern term [and its spelling] and also to decipher older legal terms no longer in common usage. Many legal terms, now infrequently used, are from Latin, a language commonly taught in public schools until the last half of the twentieth century, and the language common to scholars in all countries for centuries. English now has supplanted Latin in that regard. There has been a push, in the last twenty-five years or so, in the profession, to use modern English instead of legalese. Therefore, intermarriage is now rarely used. The definition indicates that its use may have distinguished between those marriages in which both parties agreed to the marriage and those in which the woman had no choice in the matter. Probably by the time period [1700-1900] in which this term was commonly used this distinction was commonly moot, i.e., of no effect. A lawyer's secret: Most lawyers do not create each document that they produce, from scratch. They use form books and other documents, copying them, adapted to the case at hand. Thus legal language and terms are perpetuated beyond common usage of the term. [If the pleading, will, etc. worked before, why take a chance with new language.] Hope this helps. Joan B "Joan Best" <joanbest@earthlink.net>