Per Stirpes

Per Stirpes, ^* By stock; by roots.

2. When, for example, a man dies intestate, leaving children and grandchildren, whose parents are deceased, the estate is to be divided not per capita, that is, by each of the children and grandchildren taking a share, but per stirpes, by each of the children taking a share, and the grandchildren, the children of a deceased child, taking a share to be afterwards divided among themselves per capita.

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