Lat By roots or stocks; by representatlon. This term, de-rived from the clvil law, is much used in the law of descents and distribution, and de-notes that method of dividing an intestate estate where a class or group of distributees take the share which their stock (a deceased ancestor) would have been entltled to, taklng thus by their rlght of representing such an-cestor, and not as so many indlvlduals; whlle other heirs, who stand in equal degree with such ancestor to the decedent, take each a share equal to hls. See Rotmauskey v. Heiss, 86 Md. 633, 39 Atl. 415
Source: Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)
