Legal Research for Non-Law Students: Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

These law-related encyclopedias may provide summaries of the law or overviews of legal isssues, and refer you to important cases or legislation.

Did you know that there can be differences between a word or phrase's legal definition and its general purpose, non-law definition? There sometimes is - and your research may depend on knowing the difference!

In law, there are some terms that have specific definitions under the law. For example, a hostile work environment doesn't just mean a workplace where the atmosphere is unpleasant/unbearable. Instead, it means that harassment under specific legal categories (such as ethnicity, gender, religion, etc.) is occurring. A law dictionary will let you know this! Similarly, a law dictionary can define legal terms that come from Latin, like stare decisis, habeas corpus, ex gratia, etc. Finally, law dictionaries often provide citations to court cases or legislation where these terms are defined, which can help you understand how these terms are used in context. 

Remember that law dictionaries are not official statements of the law, so exercise good judgment about which ones you use. The dictionaries recommended below are trustworthy sources, but there are legal definition websites that are not as reliable.