de jure
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
See DE FACTO, above. De mortuis nil nisi bonum (de mor' tu is nil nl'sl bo'num) (Lat). Of the dead speak kindly or not at all. "Speak not evil of the dead" was one of the maxims of Chilo (q.v.).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “de jure” mean?
See DE FACTO, above. De mortuis nil nisi bonum (de mor' tu is nil nl'sl bo'num) (Lat). Of the dead speak kindly or not at all. "Speak not evil of the dead" was one of the maxims of Chilo (q.v.).
Is “de jure” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.