dum casta Law.
(dʌm ˈkæstə)
[L.; short for dum sola et casta vixerit as long as she shall live alone and chaste.]
A clause in a legal instrument conferring on a woman a benefit which is to cease should she cease to lead a chaste life, or should she marry or remarry.
| [1628 E. Coke First Pt. Inst. Laws Eng. iii. 234v Dum, also maketh a limitation, as if a Lease be made, Dum sola fuerit, or Dum sola & casta vixerit.] 1883 J. M. Lely Wharton's Law Lex. (ed. 7) 280/2 This proviso is termed the ‘dum casta clause’. 1905 Law Jrnl. Rep., Prob. LXXIV. 3/1 The main subject to be regarded is the temptation to which the wife may be exposed; and in this respect it appears a material precaution that the limitation dum casta should be inserted. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 29 Mar. 7/2 The question..was whether it was a condition of the allowance of {pstlg}100 that a dum casta or chastity clause should be inserted. 1960 Times 15 Jan. 15/7 The defendant..forfeited..her right to maintenance..by committing a breach of the dum sola et casta clause in the order. |