Legal Definitions - merces

Mercēs (mər-seez) is a Latin term used in Roman law. It refers to:

1. An agreed payment for a specific thing or service that has been contracted for, such as rent or hire. The payment must be certain and usually consists of a series of periodical payments. For example, if someone rents a house, they must pay a certain amount of money every month as rent.
2. A reward given for a gratuitous service, such as saving someone's life. This type of payment is also called merces.

It is important to note that the payment must be agreed upon beforehand for it to be considered merces.

• If someone rents a car for a week, they must pay a certain amount of money as merces for the use of the car.
• If a doctor saves someone's life, they may receive a merces as a reward for their service.

These examples illustrate how merces is used to refer to an agreed payment for a specific thing or service or a reward for a gratuitous service.