severally
(redirected from several)Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
severally
This is one of those words that means the exact opposite of what you might guess. It means individually,although you might think it has something to do with several people.It is most often encountered in two situations. Property may be owned severally, or ?in severalty? meaning that there is one owner with no co-owners. In addition, one might see legal liability expressed as ?jointly and severally,? such as roommates who sign a lease together. They are both liable for the entire rent (jointly), and they are each individually liable for the entire rent (severally). If there is a default, the landlord may sue both of them and collect from whoever has money, or the landlord may choose to sue only one tenant and collect the entire amount from that one tenant, not simply
one-half of the debt.