Definition of: Magna Carta

(mag′nə kär′tə)
1. The Great Charter of English liberties, delivered June 19, 1215, by King John, at Runnymede, on the demand of the English barons: first document of the English constitution.
2. Any fundamental constitution that secures personal liberty and civil rights. Also Mag′na Char′ta, the erroneous but common form. [<Med. L, lit., Great Charter]