Black's Law Dictionary is the most widely used
law dictionary in the
United States. It was founded by
Henry Campbell Black. It is the reference of choice for definitions in
legal briefs and
court opinions and has been cited as a
secondary legal authority in many
U.S. Supreme Court cases.
The latest editions, including abridged and pocket versions, are useful starting points for the layman or student when faced with an unfamiliar legal word.
The first edition was published in 1891, and the second edition in 1910, long before the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was completed in 1928. The sixth and earlier editions of the book also provided case citations for the term cited, which some lawyers view as its most useful feature, providing a useful starting point with leading cases. The Internet made legal research easier than it ever had been, so many state- or circuit-specific case citations and outdated or overruled case citations were dropped from the seventh edition in 1999. The eighth edition introduced a unique system of perpetually updated case citations and cross-references to legal encyclopedias. The ninth edition was published in the summer of 2009.
Black's Law Dictionary has been used to create law dictionaries in other languages including Qanuni, Angrezi-Urdu lug_h_at&_160; Blaiks la' dikshanari se mak_h_uz, published in Urdu in Islamabad by Muqtadirah-yi Qaumi Zaban in 1992, and Farhang-i ?uquqi-i Bahman&_160; Ingilisi-Farsi&_160; bar asas-i Black's law dictionary, published in Persian in Tehran by Ganj-i Danish in 1999.
