prima facie

English

Etymology

From Latin prīmā (“first”) + faciē (“shape, figure”), literally “at the first appearance.”

Pronunciation

Adverb

prima facie (comparative more prima facie, superlative most prima facie)

  1. (law) At first sight; on the face of it.
    Synonyms: apparently, seemingly; see also Thesaurus:ostensibly
    • 1871, Gail Hamilton, Gala-days, page 191:
      […] the nicest young man that ever was, — daintily gloved, patently booted, oilily curled, snowily wristbanded, with a lovely cambric (prima facie) handkerchief bound about his hyacinthine locks and polished hat.
    • 1916 April 8, The National Provisioner, volume 54, number 15, page 36, column 2:
      Prima facie this may not read like a true story.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

prima facie (not comparable)

  1. (law) Apparently correct; not needing proof unless evidence to the contrary is shown.
    Synonyms: immediate, indubitable, self-evident; see also Thesaurus:obvious
    • 2020, Alex Garland, 17:59 from the start, in Devs, season 1, episode 5, spoken by Lecturer (Liz Carr):
      We conclude that the single photon is somehow interacting with itself. And now we have prima facie evidence of the superposition of quantum particles, that they can exist in more than one place at the same time.

Usage notes

  • In common usage, often used to mean that the conclusion is obvious. In more narrow legal usage, it means rather that there is a case to answer – that the question is clear, but the conclusion is not necessarily obvious.

Translations

Spanish

Adverb

prima facie

  1. (law) prima facie

Further reading

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