Canadian Legal Research Manual

If you need to know the legal meaning of a term, you can consult a legal dictionary or a type of finding tool called Words and Phrases.

These two types of resource have distinct use cases:

• Legal dictionary: tells you the meaning of a legal word or phrase (e.g. fiduciary duty).
• Words and Phrases: tells you the legal meaning of a word or phrase as interpreted by the courts. Often used for words that have commonly understood definitions but may have a specific meaning developed through jurisprudence.

For instance, you probably already know the generally understood definition of the word person, but you may need to consult a Words and Phrases resource to find out whether the term has been interpreted by the courts to refer to entities other than humans in your context. 

Legal dictionaries provide definitions of legal terms. The Law Library has a selection of legal dictionaries available in print and online. 

►See our Legal Dictionaries guide for a list of dictionaries by country. 

Words and phrases as interpreted by Canadian courts and tribunals.