Ambiguity

Ambiguity in United States

Ambiguity Definition

(Lat. ambiguitas, indistinctness; duplicity). Duplicity, indistinctness, or uncertainty of meaning of an expression used in a written instrument. The term does not include mere inaccuracy, or such uncertainty as arises from the use of peculiar words, or of common words ia a peculiar sense (Wigram, Wills, 174; 3 Sim. 24; 3 Man. & G. 452; 8 Mete. [Mass.] 576; 13 Vt. 36. See 21 Wend. [N. Y.] 651), and intends such expressions as would be found of uncertain meaning by persons of competent skill and information (1 Greenl. Ev. § 298). It has also been confined to duplicity of meaning, and thus distinguished from general uncertainty. 2 Pars. Cont. 557, note. Latent ambiguity is that which arises from some collateral circumstance or extrinsic matter in cases where the instrument itself is sufficiently certain and intelligible. 1 Gray (Mass.) 134. Patent ambiguity is that which appears on the face of the instrument; that which occurs yrhen the expression of an instrument is so defective that a court of law which is obliged to put a construction upon it, placing itself in the situation of the parties, cannot ascertain therefrom the parties’ intention. 4 Mass. 205; 4 Cranch (U.S.) 167; 1 Greenl. Ev. § 292-300.

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Legal Issue for Attorneys

(Lat. ambiguitas, indistinctness; duplicity). Duplicity, indistinctness, or uncertainty of meaning of an expression used in a written instrument. The term does not include mere inaccuracy, or such uncertainty as arises from the use of peculiar words, or of common words ia a peculiar sense (Wigram, Wills, 174; 3 Sim. 24; 3 Man. & G. 452; 8 Mete. [Mass.] 576; 13 Vt. 36. See 21 Wend. [N. Y.] 651), and intends such expressions as would be found of uncertain meaning by persons of competent skill and information (1 Greenl. Ev. § 298). It has also been confined to duplicity of meaning, and thus distinguished from general uncertainty. 2 Pars. Cont. 557, note. Latent ambiguity is that which arises from some collateral circumstance or extrinsic matter in cases where the instrument itself is sufficiently certain and intelligible. 1 Gray (Mass.) 134. Patent ambiguity is that which appears on the face of the instrument; that which occurs yrhen the expression of an instrument is so defective that a court of law which is obliged to put a construction upon it, placing itself in the situation of the parties, cannot ascertain therefrom the parties’ intention. 4 Mass. 205; 4 Cranch (U.S.) 167; 1 Greenl. Ev. § 292-300.

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Notice

This definition of Ambiguity Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This definition needs to be proofread..

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See Also

  • Legal Topics.
  • Authority ; Metaphor ; Perspective ; Quantum.

    DOUBLE MEANING, DOUBLE TALK, PUN, PUNCTUATION.

    Further Reading (Books)

    Arnheim, Rudolf. Visual Thinking. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969.

    Caglioti, Giuseppe. The Dynamics of Ambiguity. Berlin: Springer, 1992.

    “Perception of Ambiguous Figures: A Qualitative Model Based on Synergetics and Quantum Mechanics.” In Ambiguity in Mind and Nature: Multistable Cognitive Phenomena, edited by Peter Kruse and Michael Stadler. Berlin: Springer, 1995. Psychologists, physicists, neurologists, and chemists analyze multistability in perception.

    Empson, William. Seven Types of Ambiguity. London: Chatto and Windus, 1953.

    Haken, Hermann. Synergetics, an Introduction: Nonequilibrium Phase Transitions and Self-organization in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. 2nd ed. Berlin: Springer, 1983.

    Hoffmann, Roald. The Same and Not the Same. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.

    Piaget, Jean. La construction du réel chez l’enfant. Neuchâtel, France: Delachaux and Niestlé, 1937.

    Prigogine, Ilya. La fin des certitudes: temps, chaos et les lois de la nature. Paris: O. Jacob, 1996.

    Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Tractatus logico philosophicus. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1922.

    Giuseppe Caglioti

    Further Reading (Articles)

    Ambiguity is the key. It has often been said that intent is “king” in the conveyance of real property. If intent is king, then ambiguity is the key to the kingdom.(traversingthelaw), Point of Beginning; January 1, 2009; Lucas, Jeffery N.

    The Ambiguities of Out-of-Home Care: Children with Severe or Profound Disabilities*, Family Relations; April 1, 2007; Roper, Susanne Olsen Jackson, Jeffrey B.

    Revisiting the Ambiguity of “And” and “Or” in Legal Drafting, St. John’s Law Review; October 1, 2006; Adams, Kenneth A. Kaye, Alan S.

    THE AMBIGUITIES OF READING: A REFLECTION ON MARK SANDERS’S AMBIGUITIES OF WITNESSING: LAW AND LITERATURE IN THE TIME OF A TRUTH COMMISSION, English Studies in Africa; May 1, 2009; Harris, Ashleigh

    Estimation of Ambiguity in Ensemble Forecasts, Weather and Forecasting; February 1, 2012; Eckel, F Anthony Allen, Mark S

    Risk perception, ambiguity, and nuclear-waste transport., Southern Economic Journal; January 1, 2009; Riddel, Mary

    Living with Ambiguity: Pricing Mortality-Linked Securiti
    es with Smooth Ambiguity Preferences, Journal of Risk and Insurance; September 1, 2013; Chen, Hua Sherris, Michael Sun, Tao Zhu, Wenge

    Relations between Role Ambiguity and Athletes’ Satisfaction among Team Handball Players, The Sport Journal; September 22, 2007; Bebetsos, Evangelos Theodorakis, Nicholas D. Tsigilis, Nikolaos

    Boundary Ambiguity in Parents with Chronically Ill Children: Integrating Theory and Research, Family Relations; April 1, 2007; Berge, Jerica M. Holm, Kristen E.

    ASSESSING AND DESCRIBING TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY IN THE CONTEXT OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP, Allied Academies International Conference. Academy of Educational Leadership. Proceedings; July 1, 2009; Kajs, Lawrence T McCollum, Daniel L

    The Relationship between Tolerance for Ambiguity and Need for Course Structure, Journal of Instructional Psychology; June 1, 2003; DeRoma, Virginia M. Martin, Kanetra M. Kessler, Maria Lynn

    Promoting Tolerance for Ambiguity in Counselor Training Programs, Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development; March 22, 2005; Levitt, Dana Heller Jacques, Jodi D.

    The Limits of Transparency: Ambiguity and the History of International Finance.(Book review), Canadian Public Administration; September 22, 2006; Will, Hart J.

    Ethical Beliefs and Tolerance of Ambiguity, Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal; March 1, 2000; Yurtsever, Gölçimen

    Supervisor Communication Practices and Boundary Spanner Role Ambiguity, Journal of Managerial Issues; March 22, 2001; Johlke, Mark C. Duhan, Dale F.

    Positive Effects of Ambiguity When Created by Rhetorical Devices: To Be or Not to Be, ETC.: A Review of General Semantics; October 1, 2010; Muzzillo, Jeanne Smith

    Wrongs of Ignorance and Ambiguity: Lawyer Responsibility for Collective Misconduct, Yale Journal on Regulation; January 1, 2005; Simon, William H.

    Beyond Risk and Ambiguity: Deciding under Ignorance, Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience; September 1, 2010; Pushkarskaya, Helen Liu, Xun

    An Examination of the Factor Structure of the Role Ambiguity Scale, Journal of Sport Behavior; September 1, 2010; Theodorakis, Nicholas D. Tsigilis, Nikolaos Bebetsos, Evangellos

    The Ambiguity Tolerance Interface: A Modified Social Cognitive Model for Leading under Uncertainty, Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies; January 1, 2004; Lane, Michael S. Klenke, Karin


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