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To seek to obtain by legal process; as, to prosecute a right or a claim in a court of law.

of a criminal suit; the process of exhibiting formal charges against an offender before a legal tribunal, and pursuing them to final judgment on behalf of the state or government, as by indictment or information.

party, before or while paying a tax, duty, or the like, demanded of him, which he deems illegal, denying the justice of the demand, and asserting his rights and claims, in order to show that the payment was not voluntary. Story. Kent.

To free from ceremonial or legal defilement. And Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, . . . and purified the altar. Lev. viii. 15. Purify both yourselves and your captives. Num. xxxi. 19.

Precise in observance of legal or religious requirements; strict; overscrupulous; rigid; -- often used by way of reproach or contempt. Paritanical circles, from which plays and novels were strictly excluded. Macaulay. He had all the puritanic traits, both good and evil. Hawthorne.

ecessary for a purpose; to make capable, as of an employment or privilege; to supply with legal power or capacity. He had qualified himself for municipal office by taking the oaths to the sovereigns in possession. Macaulay.

One legally empowered to make quest of certain matters, esp. of abuses of weights and measures. Specifically:

h their wearers, tossed, And fluttered into rags. Milton. Not having otherwise any rag of legality to cover the shame of their cruelty. Fuller.

rmanent nature of real property; as, chattels which savor of the realty; -- so written in legal language for reality.

The various legal papers used in a case, together with memoranda of the proceedings of the court; as, it is not permissible to allege facts not in the record.

ement in a court of law; as, to recover lands in ejectment or common recovery; to gain by legal process; as, to recover judgement against a defendant. Recover arms (Mil. Drill), a command whereby the piece is brought from the position of "aim" to that of "ready."

To let go, as a legal claim; to discharge or relinquish a right to, as lands or tenements, by conveying to another who has some right or estate in possession, as when the person in remainder releases his right to the tenant in possession; to quit.

The legal means to recover a right, or to obtain redress for a wrong. Civil remedy. See under Civil. -- Remedy of the mint (Coinage), a small allowed deviation from the legal standard of weight and fineness; -- called also tolerance.

under a defective title, to his rights under some valid title by virtue of which he might legally have entered into possession only by suit. Bouvier.

been resolved on or determined; decisive conclusion; fixed purpose; determination; also, legal or official determination; a legislative declaration; a resolution. Nor is your firm resolve unknown. Shak. Cæsar's approach has summoned us together, And Rome attends her fate from our resolves. Addison.

Legally required to be returned, delivered, given, or rendered; as, a writ or precept returnable at a certain day; a verdict returnable to the court.

That which one has a legal or social claim to do or to exact; legal power; authority; as, a sheriff has a right to arrest a criminal.

Opprobriously, a leader of a body of men engaged in the violation of law or in an illegal enterprise, as rioters, mutineers, or the like. The ringleaders were apprehended, tried, fined, and imprisoned. Macaulay.

To have a legal course; to be attached; to continue in force, effect, or operation; to follow; to go in company; as, certain covenants run with the land. Customs run only upon our goods imported or exported, and that but once for all; whereas interest runs as well upon our ships as goods, and must be yearly paid. Sir J…

before-mentioned; already spoken of or specified; aforesaid; -- used chiefly in legal style.