Legal Definitions - incrementum

Incrementum (in-krə-men-təm) is a Latin term that means increase.

In legal contexts, the term was used in phrases such as "costs de incremento" which referred to costs of court awarded in addition to what a jury awards. Juries usually awarded the successful party only a small sum for costs. If a party wished to recoup the additional costs, they had to file an affidavit of increase setting forth what further costs were incurred by taking the matter through trial.

For example, if a plaintiff won a lawsuit and was awarded $10,000 in damages, but incurred an additional $5,000 in legal fees, they could file an affidavit of increase to request that the defendant pay the additional costs.

Incrementum can also be used in other contexts to refer to any kind of increase or growth. For instance, a company might experience an incrementum in sales after launching a new product, or a student might see an incrementum in their grades after studying harder.