Word.ws English Dictionary

ex contractu

Syllables: ex con·trac·tu/ɛks kənˈtɹækt(j)uː/US/ɛks kənˈtɹæktu/

ex contractu adjective: of a legal obligation: arising from a contractual relationship.

Adjective

ex contractu (not comparable)

  1. (postpositional) Of a legal obligation: arising from a contractual relationship.
    • This act [An Act anent the Aliment of Poor Prisoners 1696 (chapter 32; Parliament of Scotland)] was clearly intended to regulate the case of civil debts; but the question occurred whether by civil debts was meant debts ex contractu, or debts also ex delicto; and the Court were at first of opinion...1815, Robert Bell, A Dictionary of the Law of Scotland: […], 2nd edition, volume I, Edinburgh: Printed by Alex. Smellie, for John Anderson & Company; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown...
    • Personal actions are in form ex contractu or ex delicto, or, in other words, are for breach of contract, or for wrongs unconnected with contract. Those upon contracts are principally assumpsit, debt, covenant, and detinue [...]1837, Joseph Chitty, Thomas Chitty, A Treatise on the Parties to Actions, and on Pleading: […], 7th American edition, volume I, Springfield, Mass.: G. and C. Merriam, →OCLC, page 110

Adverb

ex contractu (not comparable)

  1. (postpositional) From a contractual relationship.
    • The diviſion of obligations, into thoſe ariſing from a contract, or quaſi ex contractu; from a delict, or quaſi ex delicto, takes place in the law of England [marginal note]. [...] Obligations civil, in a large ſenſe, may be divided into ſuch as ariſe from a contract, or quaſi contract; or from a...1751, Andrew MacDowall Bankton, An Institute of the Laws of Scotland in Civil Rights: With Observations Upon the Agreement or Diversity Between Them and the Laws of England. In Four Books. […]...
    • Actio personalis moritur cum persona. – A personal action dies with the person. [i.e. An action merely personal, arising ex delicto, for a tort, but not an action arising ex contractu, from contract. [...]]1824, Thomas Branch, William Waller Hening, Principia Legis et Æquitatis: Being an Alphabetical Collection of Maxims, Principles or Rules, Definitions, and Memorable Sayings, in Law and Equity; […]...

Origin of ex contractu

From Latin ex (“from”) + contractū (ablative singular of contractus (“contract”)).

Questions about ex contractu

What does ex contractu mean?
Ex contractu means of a legal obligation: arising from a contractual relationship.
What part of speech is ex contractu?
Ex contractu can be an adjective or an adverb.
How do you pronounce ex contractu?
Ex contractu is pronounced /ɛks kənˈtɹækt(j)uː/ (UK).

Words near ex contractu in the dictionary

  1. ex
  2. ex abundante cautela
  3. ex ante
  4. ex cathedra
  5. ex cetera
  6. ex contractu
  7. ex copula
  8. ex delicto
  9. ex dividend
  10. ex facie
  11. ex gratia

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ex contractu (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-ex contractu.oga.

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