1. Roman law. An action on a bilateral agreement under which one party had performed and required the other to perform in turn.
2. Roman law. The grounds given for the existence of a contract that falls into the class later described as innominate. • Innominate contracts were developed and recognized late in classical law. See innominate contract under CONTRACT.
3. Hist. (Of a clause) restricted in scope by introductory words — esp., in a pleading, words defining the issue.