‖Ca″ve‐at (?), n. [L. caved let him beware, pres. subj. of cavere to be on one's guard to, beware.]
1. (Law) A notice given by an interested party to some officer not to do a certain act until the party is heard in opposition; as, a caveat entered in a probate court to stop the proving of a will or the taking out of letters of administration, etc. Bouvier.
2. (U. S. Patent Laws) A description of some invention, designed to be patented, lodged in the patent office before the patent right is applied for, and operating as a bar to the issue of letters patent to any other person, respecting the same invention.
☞ A caveat is operative for one year only, but may be renewed.
3. Intimation of caution; warning; protest.
We think it right to enter our caveat against a conclusion.
Jeffrey.
Caveat emptor(Law), let the purchaser beware, i.e., let him examine the article he is buying, and act on his own judgment.