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Legal Dictionaries

About Black's Law Dictionary

"Well-known enough that it is recognizable simply by the name of its long-deceased creator, Black's is the most widely used law dictionary in the United States today. . . . [I]t has become the predominant American law dictionary." Sarah Yates, Black's Law Dictionary: The Making of an American Standard, 103 Law Libr. J. 175, 175 (2011).

Finding Black's Law Dictionary

Black's Law Dictionary
Available on the library's Westlaw computers. From the All Content tab, select Secondary Sources > Black's Law Dictionary (located in the Tools & Resources box on the right)

12th (2024) edition. Can search by dictionary term or definition text. Can also exclude terms from the search.

The following member databases include historic editions of Black's Law Dictionary. Members must be logged in to jenkinslaw.org to access these databases. These databases are also available in the library.

Law Dictionary Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern ... (2nd ed.) [1910]
Available on HeinOnline.

Dictionary of Law Containing Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern (1st ed.) [1891]
Available on HeinOnline. Also available on LLMC Digital.