prima facie

English

Etymology

From Latin prīmā (“first”) + faciē (“shape, figure”), literally “at the first appearance.”

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːmə ˈfeɪsiː/, /ˈpɹaɪmə ˈfeɪsiː/, /-ʃiː/, /-ʃə/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiːmə ˈfæɪsiː/, /ˈpɹɑɪmə ˈfæɪsiː/, /-ʃiː/, /-ʃə/

Adverb

prima facie (comparative more prima facie, superlative most prima facie)

1. (law) At first sight; on the face of it.
   • 1871, Gail Hamilton, Gala-days, page 191:

     […] the nicest young man that ever was, — daintily gloved, patently booted, oilily curled, snowily wristbanded, with a lovely cambric (prima facie) handkerchief bound about his hyacinthine locks and polished hat.

   • 1916 April 8, The National Provisioner, volume 54, number 15, page 36, column 2:

     Prima facie this may not read like a true story.

Synonyms

• apparently, seemingly, ostensibly; see also Thesaurus:ostensibly

Derived terms

• prima faciality

Related terms

• ex facie

Translations

at first sight

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 從表面上看 / 从表面上看 (cóng biǎomiàn shàng kàn)

• Finnish: ensinäkemältä, ensisilmäyksellä
• French: please add this translation if you can

Adjective

prima facie (not comparable)

1. (law) Apparently correct; not needing proof unless evidence to the contrary is shown.
   • 2020, Alex Garland, 17:59 from the start, in Devs, season 1, episode 5, spoken by Lecturer (Liz Carr):

     We conclude that the single photon is somehow interacting with itself. And now we have prima facie evidence of the superposition of quantum particles, that they can exist in more than one place at the same time.

Usage notes

In common usage, often used to mean that the conclusion is obvious. In more narrow legal usage, it means rather that there is a case to answer – that the question is clear, but the conclusion is not necessarily obvious. See also Wikipedia at Prima facie: res ipsa loquitur and Res ipsa loquitur: contrast to prima facie.

Synonyms

• immediate, indubitable, self-evident; see also Thesaurus:obvious

Translations

apparently correct

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 初步的 (chūbù de), 初步證明的 / 初步证明的 (chūbù zhèngmíng de), 表面的 (biǎomiàn de)

• Finnish: alustavasti oikea, lähtökohtaisesti oikea
• French: please add this translation if you can

Spanish

Adverb

prima facie

1. (law) prima facie

Further reading

• “prima facie”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10