Magna Carta

noun

Mag·​na Car·​ta ˈmag-nə-ˈkär-tə 

variants or less commonly Magna Charta

1

: a charter of liberties to which the English barons forced King John to give his assent in June 1215 at Runnymede

2

: a document constituting a fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges

Examples of Magna Carta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Officials in two counties had erected displays at courthouses that included the Ten Commandments, Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence. —Lydia Artz, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025

The expansive lot includes a portable Magna Carta, an early scientific encyclopedia, a surgical codex, and one of the oldest surviving Sephardic Torah scrolls. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 3 July 2025

And centuries earlier, the colonists’ British forebears had brought an earlier monarch to heel, forcing King John to sign the Magna Carta and thereby setting a precedent of powerful limits on royal power. —Tom Shattuck, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 June 2025

What is Magna Carta? 10 of 10 Morris the Alligator, pictured above, died this week. —Jeremy Engle, New York Times, 20 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Medieval Latin, literally, great charter

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Magna Carta

• charta

Legal Definition

Magna Carta

noun

Mag·​na Car·​ta

variants or Magna Charta

ˈmag-nə-ˈkär-tə 

: a charter of liberties signed under duress by King John of England in 1215 that influenced the development of many important modern legal and constitutional principles (as due process)

Etymology

Medieval Latin, literally, great charter