obiter dictum

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obiter dictum

/ˌəʊbɪtə ˈdɪktəm/ UK
/ˌoʊbɪɾɚ ˈdɪktəm/ US

Where it comes from

From Latin obiter dictum (“something said by the way”).

noun obiter dicta

An incidental remark; especially (law) a statement or remark in a court's judgment that is not essential to the disposition of the case. All I know is that we had a patent suction jack—for of course we daren't use leverage—capable of raising five tons dead weight drawing on a stone weighing something less than five hundredweight and it couldn't budge it a hair. No, sir; do what we might it had us beaten to cold cinders. And if you wa

Translations

Every language

noun statement not essential to the disposition of the case

Español	opinión accesoria
中文	附帶意見 /附带意见 fùdài yìjiàn, 附論 /附论 fùlùn, 附言 fùyán

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MLA

"obiter dictum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/obiter%20dictum. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

obiter dictum. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/obiter%20dictum

Chicago

"obiter dictum." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/obiter%20dictum.

BibTeX

@misc{obiter_dictum_2026,
  title = {obiter dictum},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/obiter%20dictum},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}