Cause célèbre
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Look up cause célèbre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
A cause célèbre (/ˈkɔːz səˈlɛb/; French: [koz selɛbʁ], famous case, plural causes célèbres) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate.[1] The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases.[2] It is a French phrase in common English use, but is hardly used in modern French. The phrase originated with the 37-volume Nouvelles Causes Célèbres, published in 1763.
[edit] History
Old French (Anglo-Norman) was the language of the legal profession in England, starting about 200 years after the Norman conquest in 1066 (the years 1275 – 1310), to about 1731. Some of the Old French used at that time (Law French) remains in use today as English pronounced Anglo-French words: "appeal, attorney, bailiff, bar, claim, complaint, counsel, court, defendant, demurrer, evidence, indictment, judge, judgment, jury, justice, party, plaintiff, plea, plead, sentence, sue, suit, summon, verdict and voir dire." While there are many French-looking words, they may not correspond to Modern French (for example, "voir" in voir dire is a completely different meaning).[3]
[edit] See also
- Landmark decision
- List of French words and phrases used by English speakers
- Media circus
- Missing White Woman Syndrome
[edit] References
- ^ The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy; third edition, 2002.
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language; fourth edition, 2000.
- ^ "The Nature of Legal Language". languageandlaw.org. http://www.languageandlaw.org/NATURE.HTM. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
