Prima facie Prima facie Prima facie (; ) is a Latin expression meaning "on its first encounter" or "at first sight". The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine forms of "primus" ("first") and "facies" ("face"), both in the ablative case. In modern, colloquial and conversational English, a common translation would be "on the face of it". The term "prima facie" is used in modern legal English (including both civil law and criminal law) to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating evidence appears to exist to support a case. In common law jurisdictions, "prima
Love at first sight a basilisk. Giovanni Boccaccio provides one of the most memorable examples in his "Il Filostrato", where he mixes the tradition of love at first sight, the eye's darts, and the metaphor of Cupid's arrow: "Nor did he (Troilus) who was so wise shortly before... perceive that Love with his darts dwelt within the rays of those lovely eyes... nor notice the arrow that sped to his heart." William Shakespeare pays a handsome (posthumous) tribute to Christopher Marlowe, who himself wrote "Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?" in his 1598 poem "Hero and Leander", by citing him the