curtilage
Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- noun A yard, courtyard, or piece of ground, included within the fence surrounding a dwelling house.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun In law, the area of land occupied by a dwelling and its yard and outbuildings, and inclosed, or deemed as if inclosed, for their better use and enjoyment.
Examples
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The courts have long held that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes and in the curtilage, a fancy legal term for the area around the home.
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In drawing Gates out into the curtilage of his home, is the officer still trespassing as he definitely lacks any probable cause to remain on the premises?
The Volokh Conspiracy » Arrest of Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.:
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On one occasion they entered the curtilage of my boarding house, about fifteen or twenty in all, each very obviously the worse for wear.
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Immediately in its neighborhood -- so near that it might be said to be almost within the curtilage of the dwelling -- stood an old brick ruin of what had apparently been a substantial mansion-house.
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This morning we perambulated the curtilage of the villa, alternately yelling like demoniacs and mewing like cats, without the slightest result.
Note
The word 'curtilage' comes ultimately from a Latin word meaning 'court'.
