Antedating of "Eminent Domain"

[Fred Shapiro]

eminent domain (OED 1850)

1805 Emer de Vattel _The Law of Nations_ 173 (Making of Modern Law)  The
right which belonged to the society or to the sovereign, of disposing, in
case of necessity and for the public safety, of all the wealth contained
in the state is called the _eminent domain_. ... If the nation disposes of
the _public property_, in virtue of his eminent domain, the alienation is
valid, as having been made with a sufficient power.


Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
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