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curtilage
vis major
barratry
res gestae
novation

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

vis major

PRONUNCIATION:
(VIS MAY-juhr)

MEANING:
noun: An unavoidable disruptive event (such as an earthquake) that none of the parties is responsible for, which may exempt them from the obligations of a contract. Natural instances of vis major are also called acts of God.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin vis major, literally, greater force. Also see force majeure.

USAGE:
"In any case, the dealer neither placed any evidence nor any documents to indicate that any unforeseen circumstance of vis major had occurred to prevent the delivery."
R.N. Sahai; The Dealer; Business Line (Chennai, India); Oct 20, 1999.

See more usage examples of vis major in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)

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