Question:
Choose the correct meaning of the foreign language phrase "inter vivos".
Choose the correct meaning of the foreign language phrase "inter vivos".
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When dealing with Latin legal terms, break the phrase into its root meanings to understand the context—\emph{inter} means "between" and \emph{vivos} means "living".
Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
- a transaction made for obtaining a legacy
- an agreement to promote the welfare of one’s country
- a transaction made between living people
- an agreement between warring nations
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The Correct Option is C
Approach Solution - 1
The Latin phrase \emph{"inter vivos"} literally translates to "between the living". In legal and contractual contexts, it refers to a transaction or transfer made between living persons, as opposed to transfers that occur upon death (such as testamentary transfers under a will). Examples include gifts, property sales, or other agreements executed during the lifetime of the parties involved.
Options (A) and (B) are unrelated: (A) relates to inheritance, which is \emph{"mortis causa"} in legal Latin; (B) is about patriotism or welfare agreements. Option (D) refers to treaties or truces, which are not covered by "inter vivos".
Options (A) and (B) are unrelated: (A) relates to inheritance, which is \emph{"mortis causa"} in legal Latin; (B) is about patriotism or welfare agreements. Option (D) refers to treaties or truces, which are not covered by "inter vivos".
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Approach Solution -2
The Latin phrase 'inter vivos' is built from two roots: 'inter,' meaning 'between' or 'among' (as in 'international,' between nations), and 'vivos,' related to 'vivere,' meaning 'to live' (as in 'vivid' or 'survive'). Put together, the literal meaning is 'between the living.' Let's check each option against this literal meaning and its legal usage.
- a transaction made for obtaining a legacy: A legacy is something inherited after a person's death, and the legal term for a transfer that takes effect upon death is 'mortis causa' (Latin for 'by reason of death'), not 'inter vivos.' This option describes the opposite situation, a transfer tied to death rather than to living parties.
- an agreement to promote the welfare of one's country: This describes something closer to a patriotic or public-welfare agreement, which has no connection to the roots 'inter' (between) and 'vivos' (the living). Neither root points toward the idea of national welfare.
- a transaction made between living people: This matches the literal roots exactly, 'inter' (between) plus 'vivos' (the living) gives 'between the living.' In law, this term is used specifically for gifts, sales, or transfers made and completed while all parties involved are alive, distinguishing them from transfers that only take effect after death.
- an agreement between warring nations: An agreement between warring nations is generally called a truce, armistice, or treaty, none of which relate to the root 'vivos' (living), the phrase 'inter vivos' is about the living status of the parties, not about a state of war or peace between nations.
Breaking the phrase into its Latin roots, 'inter' (between) and 'vivos' (the living), points directly to transactions occurring between people who are alive.
Therefore, the correct answer is a transaction made between living people.
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Approach Solution -3
Rather than breaking the phrase into its roots, it helps to picture a concrete example: a parent transfers ownership of a house to their child while the parent is still alive and signs the deed themselves. Lawyers call this an 'inter vivos' transfer, precisely because both parties, giver and receiver, are living people at the moment the transaction happens. Let's test each option against this concrete scenario.
- a transaction made for obtaining a legacy: A legacy is received only after someone has died and their will takes effect, the opposite scenario to our example of a living parent handing over property themselves. This describes a testamentary transfer, not an inter vivos one.
- an agreement to promote the welfare of one's country: Our example scenario involves two private individuals and a piece of property, nothing about national welfare or patriotic agreements. This option describes an entirely unrelated kind of arrangement.
- a transaction made between living people: This exactly describes our scenario, a parent and child, both alive, completing a transfer directly between themselves. Whether it's a gift, a sale, or a trust set up this way, the defining feature is that both people involved are living at the time.
- an agreement between warring nations: Our scenario has nothing to do with nations or warfare, it involves two individuals transacting personally, so this option describes a completely different kind of legal or political arrangement, closer to a treaty or armistice.
Testing each option against a real transaction between two living parties singles out the one option that actually matches that description.
Therefore, the correct answer is a transaction made between living people.
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Top CLAT English Questions
- In the realm of contemporary literature, the interplay between character and setting is a nuanced dance that shapes the narrative’s essence. The setting, often described with painstaking detail, becomes more than a backdrop; it becomes a character, influencing the plot and character development.
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These sharply divergent visions mean that justice for one section is often injustice for another. Protecting the livelihood of traditional taxi and auto drivers from predatory pricing by corporate app-based taxi providers by imaginatively using the available tools of law to delay their incursion would be seen by the rich and by sections of the middle class as a failure of the judicial system, and possibly as also resulting in a downgrading of the “ease of doing business” measure. However, the masses would see such a judicial intervention as strong evidence of a good justice system. Although the conflict over competing visions of the nation and conflicting demands from social and economic segments have confined judicial reform of judicial administration mainly to “neutral” areas such as process reform, procedural law, technology, planning and court and case management, judge strength, and the workload of judges, there has been considerable improvement in these areas, and the judicial system has improved its performance.
[Extracted, with edits, from “Justice and the Two Ideas of India”, by G. Mohan Gopal, Frontline] - Everything she wanted was here, at Carignano, in Kasauli. Here, on the ridge of the mountain, in this quiet house. It was the place, and the time of life, that she had wanted and prepared for all her life-as she realized on the first day at Carignano, with a great, cool flowering of relief - and at last she had it. She wanted no one and nothing else. Whatever else came, or happened here, would be an unwelcome intrusion and distraction. This she tried to convey to the plodding postman with a cold and piercing stare from the height of the ridge onto his honest bull back. Unfortunately, he did not look up at her on the hilltop but stared stolidly down at the dust piling onto his shoes as he plodded on. A bullock-man, an oafish ox, she thought bitterly. She stepped backwards into the garden and the wind suddenly billowed up and threw the pine branches about as though to curtain her. She was grey, tall and thin and her silk sari made a sweeping, shivering sound and she fancied she could merge with the pine trees and be mistaken for one. To be a tree, no more and no less, was all she was prepared to undertake.
What pleased and satisfied her so, here at Carignano, was its barrenness. This was the chief virtue of all Kasauli of course-its starkness. It had rocks, it had pines, it had light and air. In every direction there was a sweeping view - to the north, of the mountains, to the south, of the plains. Occasionally an eagle swam through this clear unobstructed mass of light and air, that was all. And Carignano, her home on the ridge, had no more than that. Why should it? The sun shone on its white walls. Its windows were open the ones facing north opened on to the blue waves of the Himalayas flowing out and up to the line of ice and snow sketched upon the sky, while those that faced south looked down the plunging cliff to the plain stretching out, flat and sere to the blurred horizon.
Yes, there were some apricot trees close to the house. There were clumps of iris that had finished blooming. There was the kitchen with a wing of smoke lifting out of its chimney and a stack of wood outside its door. But these were incidental, almost unimportant.
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Consider, for instance, the barren expanse of the desert in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. The arid landscape mirrors the sense of isolation felt by the protagonist, Gogol, as he navigates his identity crisis in a foreign land. The relentless sun and vast sands are not mere descriptions; they are the silent witnesses to his inner turmoil.
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What pleased and satisfied her so, here at Carignano, was its barrenness. This was the chief virtue of all Kasauli of course-its starkness. It had rocks, it had pines, it had light and air. In every direction there was a sweeping view - to the north, of the mountains, to the south, of the plains. Occasionally an eagle swam through this clear unobstructed mass of light and air, that was all. And Carignano, her home on the ridge, had no more than that. Why should it? The sun shone on its white walls. Its windows were open the ones facing north opened on to the blue waves of the Himalayas flowing out and up to the line of ice and snow sketched upon the sky, while those that faced south looked down the plunging cliff to the plain stretching out, flat and sere to the blurred horizon.
Yes, there were some apricot trees close to the house. There were clumps of iris that had finished blooming. There was the kitchen with a wing of smoke lifting out of its chimney and a stack of wood outside its door. But these were incidental, almost unimportant.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from “Fire on the Mountain” by Anita Desai] - English literature is a vast and diverse field that has left an indelible mark on the world of letters. From the eloquent plays of William Shakespeare to the complex novels of Jane Austen and the profound poetry of William Wordsworth, English literature offers a window into the human experience. One of the luminaries of English literature is William Shakespeare, often hailed as the greatest playwright in the history of English language. His works, including Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet, are celebrated for their exploration of human nature, love, ambition, and tragedy. His characters, such as the tormented Hamlet and the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, continue to captivate readers and audiences worldwide.
The 19th century ushered in a new era of literary giants. Jane Austen’s novels, such as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, provide incisive social commentary through the lens of wit and romance. Austen’s heroines, like Elizabeth Bennet and Elinor Dashwood, remain beloved literary figures known for their intelligence and resilience. The Romantic era brought forth poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who celebrated * 8 UG the beauty of nature and the emotional intensity of the individual. Wordsworth’s ‘‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’’ and Coleridge’s ‘‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’’ are testament to the power of the written words to evoke profound emotions and imagery. Moving towards 20th century, English literature continued to evolve. Virginia Woolf’s ground-breaking novel Mrs. Dalloway explored the inner thoughts and lives of its characters with a modernist narrative style. Dystopian visions, as seen in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four provided stark warnings about the dangers of totalitarianism and the erosion of individual freedom.
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