Reasonable
The standard for acceptable behavior in certain circumstances. Based on probability and norms, which change.
How We Say It
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Where It Comes From
From Old French raisonable β endowed with reason. From Latin rationabilis β rational, sensible. The Anglo-American legal concept of the 'reasonable person' β a hypothetical standard against which conduct is measured β developed in 19th-century tort law.
How It's Been Used
Functions as a legal standard in negligence, contract, criminal procedure, and constitutional law. The 'reasonable person' has been criticized as encoding the assumptions of dominant groups β historically the reasonable man. 'Beyond a reasonable doubt' is the burden of proof in criminal trials. The flexibility of 'reasonable' is both its strength and its weakness.