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ferry (bef. 12c) 1. A boat or vessel used to carry persons or property across water, usu. with fixed terminals and short distances. 2. The commercial transportation of persons or property across water. 3. The place where a ferry passes across water, including the continuation of the highway on both sides of the water. 4. The right, usu. exclusive, given by government franchise, to carry persons or property across water for a fee. Also termed ferry franchise.

ferry- To carry persons or property, usu. across water, fora fee.

ferry franchise See FERRY (4).

fertile-octogenarian rule The legal fiction, assumed under the rule against perpetuities, that a woman can become pregnant as long as she is alive. The case that gave rise to this fiction was lee v. Audley, 1 Cox 324, 29 Eng. Rep. 1186 (ch. 1787). See W. Barton Leach, Perpetuities: New Hampshire Defertilizes Octogenarians, 77 Rarv. 1. Rev. 729 (1963). - Also termed presumption-ai-fertility rule. "Suppose testator bequeaths in trust to pay the income to A for her life, then to pay the income to the children of A for their lives, and upon the death of the survivor of such children, to pay the principal to the grandchildren of A. At the time of the testator's death A is 79 years old, and she has two children. Believe it or not, it has been held that the remainder to the grandchildren of A is violative of the rule against perpetuities and invalid. The law adopted the conclusive presumption that every person is capable of having children until the day he or she dies, as far as the rule against perpetuities is concerned. Consequently, A could have an additional child who would not be a life in being at the testator's death, and that child could have a child who would be born beyond the permissible period. The result of this hypothesis is to invalidate the remainder to the grandchildren. This situation is sometimes referred to as the case of the 'fertile octogenarian: Remember that the class gift is invalid if it is possible that the interest of anyone member of the class can violate the rule." Thomas F. Bergin & Paul G. Haskell, Preface to Estates in Land and Future Interests 188 (2d ed. 1984).

festing-man A bondsman; a surety. See FRANKPLEDGE.

festing-penny Earnest, or payment, given to a servant when hired.

festinum remedium (fes-ti-nam ri-mee-dee-am). [Latin]. A speedy remedy. It was used in cases, such as actions for dower or assize, where the redress of injury was given without unnecessary delay.

festo doctrine The rule that the voluntary narrowing of a patent claim may give rise to prosecution-history estoppel. Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 304 F.3d 1289 (Fed. Cir. 2003).

festuca (fes-tyoo-ka). A rod, staff, or stick used as a pledge (or gage) of good faith by a party to a contract or as a token of conveyance of land. In Roman law, a festuca was a symbol of ownership. Also termed fistuca; vindicta. See LIVERY OF SEISIN. "The wed or gage, however, was capable of becoming a symbol; an object which intrinsically was of trifling value might be given and might serve to bind a contract. Among the Franks, whom we must regard as being for many purposes our ancestors in law, it took the shape of the festuca. Whether this transition from the 'real' to the formal' can be accomplished without the intervention of sacral ceremonies seems doubtful. There are some who regard the festuca as a stout staff which has taken the place of a spear and is a symbol of physical power. Others see in it a little bit of stick on which imprecatory runes have been cut. It is hard to decide such questions, for, especially under the influence of a new religion, symbols lose their old meanings and are mixed up. Popular etymology confounds confusion." 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1186 (2d ed. 1899).

festum (fes-tam). [Latin], A feast-day, holiday, or festival.

fetal alcohol syndrome A variety of birth defects caused by the mother's alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The birth defects include facial abnormalities, mental retardation, and growth deficiencies. - Abbr. FAS.

fetiales (fee-shee-ay-leez), n. pl. Roman law. The order of priests whose duties concerned international relations and treaties, including the declaration of war and peace. Also spelled feciales. "Feciales [were] ... priests among the Romans, Etruscans, and other ancient nations ofItaly, who acted as heralds of peace and war. Their persons were sacred from injury when engaged on any mission to a hostile state, as the persons of ambassadors, and messengers, under a flag of truce, are inviolate in the present time. Their duties in some few particulars resembled those of the heralds of the Middle Ages. The Roman feciales ... formed a kind of college of heralds, instituted by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, about 710 B.C" Beeton's Illustrated Dictionary of Religion, Philosophy, Politics, and Law 240 (ca. 1880).

fetiallaw (fee-shaI). Roman law. A branch of law concerned with matters (such as treaties, embassies, and war declarations) affecting relations between peoples or nations. Also spelled feciallaw. Also termed jus fetiale.

feticide (fee-ta-sid). 1. The act or an instance of killing a fetus, usu. by assaulting and battering the mother; esp., the act of unlawfully causing the death of a fetus. 2. An intentionally induced miscarriage. Also spelled foeticide. Also termed child destruction. Cf. INFANTICIDE (1). feticidal, adj.

fetter (usu. pl.) (bef. 12c), A chain or shackle for the feet fetter, vb.

fettering of property The act of making the disposition or ownership of property more complex so that those with separate interests must cooperate if they are to handle their interests reasonably. Fettering of property occurs whenever ownership is split into two or more interests, as when present and future interests are divided or when a tenancy in common is created.

fetus A developing but unborn mammal, esp. in the latter stages of development. - Also spelled foetus. Cf. EMBRYO; ZYGOTE.

feu (fyoo), n. [fr. Law Latinfeudum "a fee"], 1. A right to land given to a person in exchange for service to be performed. 2. Scots law. Land held by a vassal in return for an annual payment in money, crops, or services(calledfeu duty) . o This type of tenure was abolished in Scotland in 2000. 3. Scots law. A perpetual grant of land to be held in exchange for grain or money. 4. A perpetual lease for a fixed rent. 5. A piece of land held under a perpetual lease for a fixed rent. Also spelled few. See FEE (2). feu, vb. - feu, adj. "Feu; in Latin feudum, was used to denote the feudal-holding, where the service was purely military; but the term has been used in Scotland in contradistinction to ward-holding, the military tenure of this country ... for, even in the purest ages of the military system, innumerable instances are to be found of grants of land in the feudal form, where the vassal annually delivered Victual, or performed agricultural services to his superior," William Bell, Bell's Dictionary and Digest of the Law of Scotland 456 (George Watson ed., 7th ed.1890).

feu- vb. Scots law. To grant (land) by feu.

feu annual Scots law. The yearly return generated by a feu.

feu charter Scots law. The charter creating a feu tenure.

feu duty Scots law. The annual rent paid by the tenant of a feu. - Also termed ground annual.

feu farm A tenure ofland held in exchange for a specified annual payment (called feu duty). This type of tenure was converted to a freehold in 2000. Also termedfeu tenure. See FEU DUTY.

feu tenure See FEU FARM.

feuar (fyoo-ar), n. Scots law. One who holds a feu. CF. FEU; VASSAL.

feud 1. A heritable estate in land conveyed from a feudal superior to a grantee or tenant, held on the condition of rendering services to the superior. It is believed that the forms feud and fief appear in England but late in the day under the influence of foreign books;they never became terms of our law. It is noticeable also that feodum was constantly used in the sense that our fee has when we speak of a lawyer's or doctor's fee; payments due for services rendered, at least if they are permanent periodic payments, are feoda; the judges, for example, receive feoda, not salaries. The etymological problem presented by the English fee seems no easy one, because at the Conquest the would-be Latin feodum or feudum (the d in which has puzzled philologists and does not always appear in Domesday Book) is introduced among a people which already has feoh as a word for property in general and cattle in particular." 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward 1236 n.2 (2d ed. 1899).

feuda pecuniae (fyoo-da pi-kyoo-nee-ee). [Law Latin]. A heritable right to money.

feudal 1. Of, relating to, or growing out of feudalism <feudal law>. 2. Of or relating to a feud <feudal tenure>. Also spelled (archaically) feodal. Cf. ALLODIAL.

feudal action A real action; an action that concerned only real property.

feudal law The real-property law ofland tenures that prevailed in England, esp. after the Norman Conquest. See FEUDARUM CONSUETUDINES.

feudal system See FEUDALISM.

feudalism (fyood-al-iz-am). 1. A landholding system, particularly applying to medieval Europe, in which all are bound by their status in a hierarchy of reciprocal obligations of service and defense. The lord was obligated to give the vassal (1) some land, (2) protection, and (3) justice. The lord guaranteed the quiet occupation of the land by the vassal and guaranteed to do right if the vassal became involved in a dispute. In return, the vassal owed the lord some type of service, called "tenure" (literally "means of holding"), because the different types of service were the methods by which the vassals held the property. 2. The social, political, and economic system of medieval Europe. Also termed feudal system;feodal system. - feudalistic, adj. 'What do we mean by feudalism? Some such answer as the following is the best that I can give - A state of society in which the main social bond is the relation between lord and man, a relation implying on the lord's part protection and defence; on the man's part protection, service and reverence, the service including service in arms. This personal relation is inseparably involved in a proprietary relation, the tenure of land the man holds land of the lord, the man's service is a burden on the land. the lord has important rights in the land, and (we may say) the full ownership of the land is split up between man and lord." FW. Maitland, The Constitutional History of England 143 (1908; repro 1955). "Modern historical research has taught us that, while it is a mistake to speak of a feudal system, the word 'feudalism' is a convenient way of referring to certain fundamental similarities which, in spite of large local variations, can be discerned in the social development of all the peoples of western Europe from about the ninth to the thirteenth cen· turies." J.L. Brierly, The Law of Nations 2 (5th ed. 1955).

feudarum consuetudines (fyoo-dair-am kon-swa-t[y] oo-da-neez). [Latin], The customs of feuds. This was the name of a compilation of feudal laws and customs made in 12th-century Milan. It is regarded as an authoritative work in continental Europe. Also spelled feodarum consuetudines.

feudary See FEUDATORY.

feudatory adj. (Of a vassal) owing feudal allegiance to a lord.

feudatory- The grantee of a feud; the vassal or tenant who held an estate by feudal service. - Also termed feudary; feodato ry. "Every receiver of lands, or feudatory, was therefore bound, when called upon by his benefactor, or immediate lord of his feud or fee, to do all in his power to defend him." 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 46 (1766).

feude See FEUD.

feudee (fyoo-dee), The grantee ofa feud; a feudal tenant.

feudist A writer on feuds (for example, Cujacius, Spelman, Craig).

feudorum libri (fyoo-dor-am li-bri). [Latin "the books of the feuds"]. The Books of Feuds, a five-book compilation of Lombardic feudal law published in Milan around 1152, during the reign of Henry III. This unofficial compilation was the main source of tenure law among the nations in Europe. It was widely used in medieval law schools and courts in Italy, France, and Germany. The Feudorum Libri were probably known in England but had little effect other than influencing English lawyers to study their own tenure system more critically. Also termed Consuetudines Feudorum; Usus Feudorum.

feudum (fyoo-dam). [Law Latin], A fief or feud; a feodum. Also termedfeodum;feum. Pl.feuda (fyooda). See FEUD (1)-(3); FIEF; FEE (2). 'The Latin equivalent of feodum or feudum is the root of the words 'feudal' and 'subinfeudation'. The French form fief is favoured by some English historians, but it was not used in law-French:' J.H. Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History 256 n.4 (3d ed. 1990).

feudum ex camera aut caverna (fyoo-dam eks kam-ar-a awt a-var-na). [Law Latin "feu from a room or hole"]. An annual gift of money, grain, or other items to a descrving person, esp. a soldier.

feudum antiquum (fyoo-dam an-ti-kwam), n. [Law Latin "ancient feud"]. 1. A feud that passed to a vassal from an intestate ancestor. 2. A feud that ancestors had possessed for more than four generations. 3. An ancient feud. PLfeuda antiqua (fyoo-da an-ti-kwa). - Also termedfeodum antiquum (fee-a-dam or fyoo-dam). See FEUD (1).

feudum apertum (fyoo-dam a-par-tam). A feud that reverted to the lord because of a tenant's failure of issue, a crime by the tenant, or some other legal cause. - Also termedfeodum apertum.

feudum burgale (fyoo-dam bar-gay-Iee). [Law Latin], Land held feudally by burgage tenure - that is, tenure given in exchange for a tenant's watching and warding in a burgh. See WATCH AND WARD.

feudum francum (fyoo-dam frangk-am). A free feud; a feud or fee that was noble and free from talliage and subsidies that vulgar feuds (plebeia feuda) were subject to.

feudum hauberticum (fyoo-dam haw-bar-ta-kam). Hist. A feud that was held on the military service of appearing fully armed when summoned by the lord. See ARRIERE-BAN.

feudum improprium (fyoo-dam im-proh-pree-am). A feud that was improper.

feudum individuum (fyoo-dam in-da-vij-oo-am). A feud that was indivisible and descendible only to the eldest son.

feudum laicum (fyoo-dam lay-a-kam). A lay feud. - Also termedfeodum laicum.

feudum ligium (fyoo-dam lij-ee-am). 1. A liege feud; a feud held immediately of the sovereign. 2. A feud for which the vassal owed fealty to his lord against all other persons.

feudum maternum (fyoo-dam ma-tar-nam). A feud that descended to the feudatory from the maternal side.

feudum militare (fyoo-dam mil-a-tair-ee). A knight's feud. It was held by knight-service and esteemed the most honorable species of tenure. Also termed feodum militis; (in Norman law) fief d'haubert or fief d'hauberk.

feudum nobile (fyoo-dam noh-ba-Iee). A feud for which the tenant did guard and owed fealty and homage. - Also termed feodum nobile.

feudum novum (fyoo-dam noh-vam). [Law Latin]. A new fee; a fee that began with the person of the feudatory, and that was not acquired by succession. Also spelled feodum novum. "For if the feud, of which the son died seised, was really feudum antiquum, or one descended to him from his ancestors, the father could not possibly succeed to it, because it must have passed him in the course of descent, before it could come to the son .... And if it were feudum novum, or one newly acquired by the son, then only the descendants from the body of the feudatory himself could succeed, by the known maxim of the early feodal constitutions ... which was founded as well upon the personal merit of the vassal, which might be transmitted to his children but could not ascend to his progenitors ... :. 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 21 1-1 2 (1766).

feudum novum ut antiquum (fyoo-dam noh-vam at an-ti-kwam). A new feud held with the qualities of an ancient teud.

feudum paternum (fyoo-dam pa-tar-nam). 1. A feud that the tenant's paternal ancestors had held for four generations. 2. A feud descendible only to the heirs on the paternal side. 3. A feud that could be held only by males.

feudum proprium (fyoo-dam proh-pree-am). An original feud that is military in nature and held by military service.

feudum rectum (fyoo-dam rek-tam). [Law Latin]. Lands held by military tenure.

feudum simplex (fyoo-dam sim-pleks). [Law Latin]. FEE SIMPLE.

feudum talliatum (fyoo-dam tal-ee-ay-tam). See PEE TAIL.

feuholding (fyoo-hohl-ding). A tenancy held by rendering produce or money instead of military service. - Also writtenfeu holding.

feum See FEUDUM.

few See FEU.

ff abbr. 1. And the pages following. 2. (often cap.) FRAGMENTA.

FGA abbr. 1. Free from general average. 2. Foreign general average. F.C.A. means Foreign General Average, and implies that, if goods become liable to general average, the rules to be applied will be those of the port of destination or refuge, i.e., the law of the place where the adjustment is made." 2 E.W. Chance, Principles of Mercantile Law 128 (PW. French ed., 10th ed, 1951).

FGM abbr. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.

FHA abbr, 1. FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION. 2. FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION.

FHA mortgage See MORTGAGE.

FHEO abbr. OFFICE OF FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.

FHLB abbr. FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK.

FHLBB abbr. FEDERAl. HOME LOAN BANK BOARD.

FHLMC abbr. FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION.

FHWA abbr. FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION.

fi.fa (sometimes cap.) abbr. FIERI FACIAS.

fiancer (fyahn-say), vb. [Law French]. To pledge one's faith.

fiant 1. A decree; commission. 2. A warrant to the Chancery ofIreland for a grant under the great seal.

fiar Scots law. One who holds an estate in fee, in contrast to a liferenter.

fiat (fee-aht or fee-at or fi-at or fi-at), n. [Latin "let it be done"], 1. An order or decree, esp. an arbitrary one <judicial fiat>. 2. A court decree, esp. one relating to a routine matter such as scheduling <the court requires all motions to contain a fiat - to be filled in by the court - setting the hearing date>. - Also termed fiaunt.

fiat justitia (fi-at jas-tish-ee-a). [Latin]. Let justice be done. This phrase signaled the Crown's commission to the House of Lords to hear an appeal. "Fiat justitia, ruat coelum, says another maxim, as full of extravagance as it is of harmony: Go heaven to wreck so justice be but done: and what is the ruin of kingdoms, in comparison of the wreck of heaven?" Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation 13-14 n.1 (1823).

fiat money See MONEY.

fiat ut petitur (fi-at at pet-a-tar). [Latin]. Let it be done as it is asked. - An order granting a petition.

fiaunt See FIAT.

FICA (fl-ka). abbr. FEDERAL INSLRANCE CONTRIBUTIONS ACT.

fickle-fiduciary rule The principle that a partner or employee who breaches a fidUciary duty should forfeit all compensation, bonuses, and other benefits received for as long as the breach continues. The rule usu. applies to a person who engages in or assists a competing business, or resigns from employment to set up or work for a competing business. Traditionally, mitigating factors, including the absence of harm to the employer or partnership, are not considered in applying the rule. But some courts have found that if a strict application would produce unjustly harsh results, mitigating factors must be weighed.

ficta traditio (fik-ta tra-dish-ee-oh). [Latin], Scots law. A fictitious delivery. The phrase invoked the rule that if the parties so intended, an item could be treated as having been delivered to a buyer in possession of it without the need for physical transfer. - Also termed fictio brevis manus.

fictio (fik-shee-oh), n. [Latin fr. fingere "to feign"], Roman law. A legal fiction; a legal assumption or supposition (such as that the plaintjffwas a citizen) necessary to achieve certain legal results that otherwise would not be obtained. Legal fictions allowed Roman magistrates (praetors) to expand the law beyond what was strictly allowed by the jus civile, This practice also occurred in English law - for example, the action of common recovery, which allowed a landowner to convey land that by law could not be alienated (such as land held in fee tail). PI. fictiones (fik-shee-oh-neez).

fictio brevis manus (fik-shee-oh bree-vis may-nas). [Law Latin], FleTA TRADITIO.

fictio juris See LEGAL FICTION.

fiction See LEGAL FICTION.

fiction of law See LEGAL FICTION.

fictional action See collusive action.

fictional action- See collusive action under ACTION (4).

fictitious adj, Of or relating to a fiction, esp. a legal fiction.

fictitious action An action, usu. unethical, brought solely to obtain a judicial opinion on an issue of fact or law, rather than for the disposition of a controversy.

fictitious action- See ACTION (4).

fictitious issue See FEIGNED ISSUE.

fictitious name 1. See ASSUMED NAME. 2. See ALIAS (1). 3. See JOHN DOE,

fictitious party See PARTY (2).

fictitious party A person who is named in a writ, complaint, or record as a party in a suit, but who does not actually exist, or a person who is named as a plaintiff but is unaware of the suit and did not consent to be named.