Appellatio

Appellatio is a Latin noun meaning “a calling to,” “a naming,” or, in a legal sense, “an appeal.” The term covers both the act of naming or designation and, in jurisprudential contexts, the procedure of requesting review by a higher authority. In general Latin usage, it can refer to addressing someone or something, as well as to the formal act of appealing a decision.

Etymology and form. Appellatio is formed from the verb appellare, “to call by name, to address, to appeal,” and the common noun-forming suffix -atio. In Latin it appears with the genitive appellationis, and in English scholarly and legal Latin texts it is used to discuss the concept of naming or of appealing to a higher tribunal.

Legal and historical usage. In Roman law and later canon law, appellatio designated a formal petition to review a decision by a lower authority. The appeal could be directed to a higher magistrate, a provincial governing body, or the pope in ecclesiastical matters. The process typically involved grounds such as errors of law, misapplication of procedure, or corruption of judgment, and it functioned as a check on adjudicatory power. Over time, the concept influenced many legal systems, though modern English-language law normally uses the term appeal rather than appellatio.

Modern usage and relation to related terms. Today, appellatio survives primarily in discussions of Latin legal and historical texts. In English, the standard term for the same concept is appeal; “appellatio” is encountered mainly in scholarly translations or analyses of ancient and medieval sources. The related English word appellation, derived from the same Latin root, refers to a name or title rather than a legal procedure.