Dictionaries and Words & Phrases

Resources that are freely available (websites members of the public can use) are marked with an asterisk (*).

Dictionaries

If you need to know the meaning of a legal word, use a legal dictionary. Legal dictionaries are available online and in print:

• Barron's Canadian Law Dictionary
  • Available electronically via Lexis+ (law students only) and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (non-law UNB/STU students and faculty)
  • Available in print in the Law Library
• Dictionary of Canadian Law (in print only)
• Black's Law Dictionary (American)
  • Available electronically via Westlaw Edge (law students only; click the International tab)
  • Available in print in the Law Library
• Dictionnaires de droit privé / Private Law Dictionaries* (bilingual dictionary of Quebec private law)
• A Dictionary of Law (UK)
• Glossary of Parliamentary Procedure* (Parliament of Canada)
• Canadian Online Legal Dictionary* (via Irwin Law)
• Wex* (via LII/Cornell Law School) (American)

Words & Phrases

Words and phrases differ from dictionaries, as they show what the courts have said about a particular term. A words and phrases source will show how courts in different jurisdictions (federal, provincial, international) have defined this term. Online words and phrases include links to these cases so you can see the definition in context.

• Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals
  
  • Available electronically via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Available in print in the Law Library
• Canadian Legal Words & Phrases
  • Available electronically via Lexis+ (law students only) and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (non-law UNB/STU students and faculty)
• Sanagan’s Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases (in print only)