Words / R / Law

res ipsa loquitur

phrase/ˌreɪz ˌɪpsə ˈlɒkwɪtə/

C2CEFR level
88/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

The principle that negligence may be inferred where the accident speaks for itself.

Since a swab was left inside the patient, the claimant relied on res ipsa loquitur.

Similar: the thing speaks for itself

Topic: Legal Latin in Legal English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More law words: Legal Latin