1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Obiter Dictum

OBITER DICTUM, that which is said by the way or in passing (Lat. ob, by, and iter, road); specifically, in law, an opinion expressed by a judge incidentally in the course of a case, on a point of law not necessarily connected with the issue or not forming part of the grounds of the decision; such obiter dicta have no binding authority.