Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The charter that King John of England issued in 1215 at the behest of his barons, recognizing the right of persons to certain basic liberties, such as due process, later also embodied in the American Constitution.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • The great Charter, so called, obtained by the English barons from King John, A. D. 1215. This name is also given to the charter granted to the people of England in the ninth year of Henry III., and confirmed by Edward I.
  • Hence, a fundamental constitution which guaranties rights and privileges.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A charter, granted by King John to the barons at Runnymede in 1215, that is a basis of English constitutional tradition.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin : Latin magna, great + charta, charter.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin Magna Carta meaning "great charter".

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