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Webster 1913 Edition

Compurgation

Comˊpur-ga′tion

,
Noun.
[L.
compurgatio
, fr.
compurgare
to purify wholly;
com-
+
purgare
to make pure. See Purge,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
(Law)
The act or practice of justifying or confirming a man’s veracity by the oath of others; – called also
wager of law
. See
Purgation
; also
Wager of law
, under
Wager
.
2.
Exculpation by testimony to one's veracity or innocence.
He was privileged from his childhood from suspicion of incontinency and needed no
compurgation
.
Bp. Hacket.

Webster 1828 Edition

Compurgation

COMPURGATION

,
Noun.
[L., To purify.] In law, the act or practice of instifying a man by the oath of others who swear to their belief of his veracity; wager of law, in which a man who has given security to make his law, brings into court eleven of his neighbors, and having made oath himself that he does not owe the plaintiff, the eleven neighbors, called compurgators, avow on their oaths that they believe in their consciences he has affirmed the truth.

Definition 2024

compurgation

compurgation

English

Noun

compurgation ‎(plural compurgations)

  1. (now chiefly historical) Acquitting someone from a formal charge or accusation following the sworn oaths of a number of other people; vindication.
    • 2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin 2013, p. 23:
      Between the later middle ages and the early seventeenth century, compurgation appears to have become an increasingly onerous test to pass, perhaps reflecting tightening attitudes to sexual offenders.

Translations

Related terms

Etymology

From Latin compurgātiōnem, from compurgāre ‎(“to purify”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /kɒmpəːˈɡeɪʃ(ə)n/

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