Vestigial words are words and phrases that technically appear in the text of older statutes but no longer have any meaning or significance because more recent amendments or statutes have eliminated their effect or what the words/phrases represent no longer exist. For example, in Wigginton v. Centracchio, the Court found that the phrase “staff corps and departments,” located in the text of a Rhode Island law, was a vestigial term that did not have any meaning in modern military organizations and thus the plaintiff/appellant did not have a claim under the specified law.
[Last updated in July of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]