an annuity scheme in which subscribers share a common fund with the benefit of survivorship, the survivors' shares being increased as the subscribers die, until the whole goes to the last survivor.
2.
the annuity shared.
3.
the share of each subscriber.
4.
the number of subscribers.
5.
any of various forms of life insurance in which the chief beneficiaries are those whose policies are in force at the end of a specified period (tontine period).
Origin: 1755–65; < French; named after Lorenzo Tonti, Neapolitan banker who started the scheme in France about 1653. See -ine1
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a. an annuity scheme by which several subscribers accumulate and invest a common fund out of which they receive an annuity that increases as subscribers die until the last survivor takes the whole
b. the subscribers to such a scheme collectively
c. the share of each subscriber
d. the common fund accumulated
e. (as modifier): a tontine fund
2.
a system of mutual life assurance by which benefits are received by those participants who survive and maintain their policies throughout a stipulated period (the tontine period)
[C18: from French, named after Lorenzo Tonti, Neapolitan banker who devised the scheme]