The terms of a writing are presumed to have been used in their primary and general acceptation, but evidence is nevertheless admissible that they have a local, technical, or otherwise peculiar signification, and were so used and understood in the particular instance, in which case the agreement must be construed accordingly.
§ 1861.Terms of Writing Presumed Used in Primary and General Sense
Title 1. Of the General Principles of Evidence · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1861 presumes that a writing's terms carry their primary and general meaning, while still allowing evidence that the parties used and understood particular words in a local, technical, or otherwise special sense, in which case the writing is construed accordingly.
Full Text of § 1861
Plain-English Summary
This section sets a starting presumption and then lets evidence overcome it. The default is that the words in a writing carry their ordinary, general meaning, the sense most readers would attach to them without special knowledge. That default keeps interpretation predictable in the ordinary case.
But words often carry a narrower, trade-specific, or regional meaning that the parties intended, and this section allows evidence of that special usage. If the evidence shows the parties in fact used and understood a term in a local, technical, or otherwise peculiar sense, the agreement is construed according to that special meaning rather than the general one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the default meaning courts give to the terms of a writing?
Their primary and general acceptation, the ordinary sense the words would carry to a typical reader.
Can a party show a word was meant in a specialized sense instead?
Yes. Section 1861 allows evidence that a term had a local, technical, or otherwise peculiar signification the parties in fact used and understood.
What happens once that specialized meaning is established?
The agreement is construed according to that particular meaning rather than the term's ordinary, general sense.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: technical meaning of contract terms californiatrade usage interpretation of writing