Alea

Alea, ^* civil law. The chance of gain or loss in a contract. This chance results either from the uncertainty of the thing sold, as the effects of a succession; or from the uncertainty of the price, as when a thing is sold for an annuity, which is to be greater or less on the happening of a future event; or it sometimes arises in consequence of the uncertainty of both. 2 Duv. Dr. Civ. Fr. n. 74.

^* From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, 1856 Edition. Please see Bouvier's Legal Abbreviations & Abbreviated References for help with obscure nomenclature & references.