WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Ca"ve*at
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L. caved let him beware, pres. subj. of cavere to be on one's guard to, beware.]
Definition : 1. (Law)

Defn: A notice given by an interested party to some officer not to do a certain act until the party is heard in opposition; as, a caveat entered in a probate court to stop the proving of a will or the taking out of letters of administration, etc. Bouvier.

2. (U. S. Patent Laws)

Defn: A description of some invention, designed to be patented, lodged in the patent office before the patent right is applied for, and operating as a bar to the issue of letters patent to any other person, respecting the same invention.

Note: A caveat is operative for one year only, but may be renewed.

3. Intimation of caution; warning; protest. We think it right to enter our caveat against a conclusion. Jeffrey. Caveat emptor Etym: [L.] (Law), let the purchaser beware, i. e., let him examine the article he is buying, and act on his own judgment.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913