de lunatico inquirendo

English

Etymology

From Latin dē lūnāticō inquīrendō.

Noun

de lunatico inquirendo

1. (law) A legal document inquiring about the sanity of an individual.
   • 1851, Blackwood's Lady's Magazine and Gazette of the Fashionable World, or St. James's Court Register and Advertiser, for Town and Country. Of the Belles Lettres, Music, Fine Arts, Drama, Fashions, &c., volume 31, page 185:

     But, unless the fact is withheld by the reporters out of delicacy, the ladies who have lectured on Bloomerism are not mad—not, at least, in the de lunatico inquirendo sense of the term.

Usage notes

• Often placed in italics, even in English expressions like "writ de lunatico inquirendo" or "the de lunatico inquirendo order".

Related terms

• commission de lunatico inquirendo

Further reading

• “de lunatico inquirendo”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “de lunatico inquirendo” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024. (it's in the "legal dictionary")