noun
Usage: sometimes capitalized C&L
Etymology: Middle English lawe civile, translation of Latin jus civile
1. Roman law
a. : the local law of a state or of Rome — distinguished from jus gentium and jus naturae
b. : the strict law as distinguished from the praetorian law established by edicts
2. : Roman law as applied in the middle ages and set forth chiefly in the Justinian Code
3.
a. : the body of private law that has developed from the Roman law in the states where the legal system is still substantially Roman but has been influenced by Germanic, ecclesiastical, and purely modern institutions — compare common law
b. : the law of private rights — distinguished from criminal law