Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Mortmain
5 dictionary results for: Mortmain
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mort·main       [mawrt-meyn] Pronunciation Key
–noun Law.
1.the condition of lands or tenements held without right of alienation, as by an ecclesiastical corporation; inalienable ownership.
2.the perpetual holding of land, esp. by a corporation or charitable trust.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME mort(e)mayn(e) < AF mortemain, trans. of ML mortua manus dead hand]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mort·main       (môrt'mān')  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Law Perpetual ownership of real estate by institutions such as churches that cannot transfer or sell it.
  2. The often oppressive influence of the past on the present.


[Middle English mortemayne, from Old French mortemain : morte, feminine of mort, dead; see mortgage + main, hand (from Latin manus; see man-2 in Indo-European roots).]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mortmain 
"inalienable ownership," 1450, from O.Fr. mortemain "dead hand," from M.L. mortua manus. Probably a metaphorical expression.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
mortmain

noun
1. real property held inalienably (as by an ecclesiastical corporation) 
2. the oppressive influence of past events or decisions [syn: dead hand] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mortmain

Ad*mor`ti*za"tion\, n. [LL. admortizatio. Cf. Amortization.] (Law) The reducing or lands or tenements to mortmain. See Mortmain.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Share This:Share This: digg.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: del.icio.usShare This: FacebookShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: furl.netShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.google.com