Glossary/Clarification of Selected Terms and Phrases

Alienation of affections - A tort action brought by an abandoned spouse against a third party alleged to have maliciously or deliberately undermined the marriage. Codified during the second half of the nineteenth-century, alienation of affection was abolished as legitimate grounds for legal action in all but eight states by the end of the twentieth century. Although the action is typically taken against the deserted spouse's lover, the claim does not necessarily revolve around extra-marital sexual relations. Instead, these cases hinge on the alleged destruction of established feelings of love by an outside party, and ministers and marriage counselors, as well as lovers, have been accused of causing alienation of affections. 

"intrusion by seduction upon the honor of the family" - Broadly, rape or sexual assault of an unmarried daughter or, more narrowly, consensual sexual relations with an unmarried daughter above the age of consent.

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