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A codicil is literally a "little codex," a little bit of writing on a small piece of writing material, used to add to or change something about a larger piece of writing. A codicil to a will can change the terms of the original will completely, so it generally requires witnesses just like the will itself, though in some states a handwritten codicil may not. In mystery novels, such changes have been known to cause murders; in real life, codicils aren't usually quite that exciting.
Examples of codicil in a Sentence
Stacy St Clair, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
This seemed to me to breach some fundamental codicil of the documentary filmmaker code: to show some version of the truth in their work, to endeavor for verisimilitude whenever and wherever possible.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 5 July 2024
And there are numerous codicils to the julep making process.
—Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2024
The 2016 codicil had a startling effect.
—Dallas News, 22 Jan. 2023
Sign a codicil or a new will with all the required formalities.
—Dallas News, 18 Sep. 2022
Besides a codicil in Ray Davis’ will, the price of signing Corey Seager and Marcus Semien was a second- and third-round choice, and despite that penalty the Rangers still finagled a first-round value in the fourth.
—Dallas News, 20 July 2022
The codicil — which is to be found in the same reality that gave rise to the concept of a casual restaurant — is not to disturb other diners.
—Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2021
In 1990 Donald secretly enlisted a lawyer to draft a codicil to the will of his father, Fred Sr.
—Anne Diebel, The New York Review of Books, 24 Sep. 2020
Dictionary Entries Near codicil
Cite this Entry
“Codicil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/codicil. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
codicil
noun
Latin codicillus, literally, writing tablet, diminutive of codic-, codex book see code
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