Legal Definitions - sonticus

Definition: Sonticus is a Latin term used in Roman law to describe something that is serious and not trivial. In the Twelve Tables, it was used to refer to a serious illness (morbus sonticus) that would excuse a defendant from appearing in court.

• John couldn't come to court because he had a sonticus illness that required him to stay in bed.
• The judge dismissed the case because the plaintiff's argument was not sonticus enough to warrant a trial.

These examples illustrate how the term sonticus is used to describe something that is serious and not trivial. In the first example, John's illness was serious enough to excuse him from appearing in court. In the second example, the plaintiff's argument was not serious enough to warrant a trial.