champertous

Variant of champerty

champerty definition

cham·perty (c̸ham′pər tē)

noun pl. champerties -·ties

Law an act or proceeding by which a person who is not concerned in a lawsuit makes a bargain with one of the litigants to help maintain the costs of the suit in return for a share of any proceeds: illegal in most states

Etymology: ME champartie < OFr champart, the lord's share in the crop of a tenant's land < L campi pars < campi, gen. of campus, field + pars, part: see campus & part

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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