Antedating of "Contractual"

[Fred Shapiro]

Jeremy Bentham was one of the greatest of English-language neologists: he
coined "maximize," "minimize," "utilitarian," "codify," and, his most
important coinage, "international."  Here's another one to add to his
list.


contractual (OED 1861)

1827 Jeremy Bentham _Rationale of Judicial Evidence_ II. 441  Laws,
whether of the purely public or of the private (or contractual) class, as
above, have no other object, effect, or use, than in as far as they give
birth or termination to rights or obligations.


Fred Shapiro


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------