abstract of title

American  

noun

Law.

1. an outline history of the title to a parcel of real estate, showing the original grant, subsequent conveyances, mortgages, etc.

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abstract of title British  

noun

1. property law a summary of the ownership of land, showing the original grant, conveyances, and any incumbrances

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Etymology

Origin of abstract of title

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

This is done through an abstract of title, which should be prepared by a competent lawyer.

From The Young Farmer: Some Things He Should Know by Hunt, Thomas Forsyth

The cattle were changing owners, and custom decreed that an abstract of title should be indelibly seared on their sides.

From The Outlet by Adams, Andy

Accordingly, the abstract of title begins with the lease, however old; but the subsequent title need not be carried back for more than forty years before the sale.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various

She produced an abstract of title and bade him read aloud the description of the property conveyed while she held the deed.

From A Hoosier Chronicle by Yohn, F. C. (Frederick Coffay)

We then went to Santa Rosa, the county seat, to get an abstract of title and a deed to the property, and now I am once more an honest rancher.

From Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far West by Drannan, William F.