originalism

noun/əˈrɪdʒɪnəlɪzəm/

Frequency rank: #19,845 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

A legal philosophy that interprets a text, especially a constitution, according to its meaning at the time it was written.

Illustration for the English word “originalism”

Example sentence

The judge's ruling was guided by originalism, which interprets the Constitution based on its original meaning.

Synonyms & related words

  • textualism
  • traditionalism

More words in ranks 19,801–19,900