Did You Know?

This writ seemeth to be called an Exigent because it exacteth the party, that is, requireth his expearance or forthcomming, to answer the lawe. Writer John Cowell, referring in 1607 to a writ summoning a person on pain of outlawry, clearly recognized "exigent" as a derivative of Latin exigere, which means "to demand." Over the last five centuries we have demanded a lot from "exigent." It has served as a legal term (as in Cowell's quote), as well as a noun meaning either "an emergency" or "an end or extremity." Nowadays, the adjective is seen frequently in legal contexts referring to "exigent circumstances," such as those used to justify a search by police without a warrant.