Concept:
The Law of Torts deals with civil wrongs where the remedy is a claim for unliquidated damages.
• Definition: A tort is a civil wrong which is not exclusively a breach of contract or breach of trust.
• Etymology: Legal language in the Common Law system is heavily influenced by Norman-French and Latin.
Step 1: Tracing the Etymological Root.
The Latin root is the word
"Tortum", which means "to twist."
This implies conduct that is "twisted" or "crooked" rather than "straight" (Right).
Step 2: Identifying the direct linguistic origin.
The specific word "Tort" itself is a
French word.
In French, "Tort" literally means a "wrong."
It is the French equivalent of the English word "wrong." Following the Norman Conquest, many French terms entered the English legal vocabulary. Thus, while the *root* is Latin, the *word used* belongs to the French language.