injunction

bubu   Wednesday, March 16, 2005, 17:10 GMT
Hello!

What is the meaning of the word 'injunction'. Is the word 'injunct' a verb form of the word injunction?

Thanks
Deborah   Wednesday, March 16, 2005, 17:57 GMT
An injunction is a command or order. In the legal sense, the command or order comes from a court. The verb that relates to this noun is "to enjoin." I did a search for "injunct," and although I got a lot of hits, no dictionary that I found, including law dictionaries, has a listing for "injunct."
D   Wednesday, March 16, 2005, 19:22 GMT
Let me point out a parallel case: 'junction' is a noun but there is no verb 'to junct'. The verb is 'to join'. Similarly, the verb for 'injunction' in 'enjoin'. Why the i/e change? Don't ask me.

> An injunction is a command or order.

Not just any order is an injunction -- in modern usage, an injunction is an order that tells someone not to do something. In the US the word is only used when referring to a court order. For example, a court might give an injunction to stop someone selling a piece of property while the ownership of the property is being disputed.
Deborah   Wednesday, March 16, 2005, 19:57 GMT
D, thanks for completing the definition. I'm not sure how I managed to leave that part out.

I noticed that many of the hits for "injunct" were from UK or Australian websites, so I also looked for the word in the Cambridge legal dictionary, but it also didn't list it.
Deborah   Wednesday, March 16, 2005, 20:44 GMT
How to incorporate "enjoin" in the example D gave of an injunction:

The defendant was enjoined from selling the property while the ownership of the property was being disputed.