mortmain en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈmɔːt.meɪn/ (UK)
- /ˈmɔɹt.meɪn/ (US)
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman mortmayn, morte meyn, from Old French mortes meins, after Late Latin phrase mortua manus. See Latin mortuus (“dead”) + manus (“hand”).
Meanings
-
(uncountable, usually) The perpetual, inalienable possession of lands by a corporation or non-personal entity such as a church.
1824, Charter of Incorporation of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, [W]e do hereby grant our especial license and authority unto all and every person […] to grant sell alien and convey in mortmain unto and to the use of the said Society and their successors […]
Though in truth it was the law of mortmain […] which originally sent the founders of chantries to seek the king's licence […]
1900, Frederic William Maitland, “The Corporation Sole”, in Law Quarterly Review, volume 16:
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(literary, uncountable, usually) A strong and inalienable possession.
[…]; and some part of that influence [of the government], which would otherwise have been possessed as in a sort of mortmain and unalienable domain, returned again to the great ocean from whence it arose, […]
1770, Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Present Discontents, and Speeches:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| mortmains | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (9)
it manomorta (inalienable possession of lands) · ca mà morta (inalienable possession of lands) · sh метох (inalienable possession of lands) · pl martwa ręka (inalienable possession of lands) · nl dode hand (inalienable possession of lands) · fr mainmorte (inalienable possession of lands) · fi pysyvä omistus (inalienable possession of lands) · es manos muertas (inalienable possession of lands) · cs nezcizitelný pozemek (inalienable possession of lands)