copyhold

[kop-ee-hohld]

noun

(formerly) a type of ownership of land in England, evidenced by a copy of the manor roll establishing the title.

an estate held under such ownership.

Nearby words

Origin of copyhold

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at copy, hold¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for copyhold

What is the etymology of grasson, a word used in some north-country manors for a fine paid on alienation of copyhold lands?
Notes and Queries, Number 62, January 4, 1851|Various
The very fact of copyhold thus gaining on villain socage may have pushed this last on towards freehold.
Villainage in England|Paul Vinogradoff
The last thing, of course, which occurred to the writer of these entries was any legal theory as to the origin of copyhold tenure.
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century|Richard Henry Tawney
The Manor comprises 1,200 acres, none of which is now copyhold.
The Annals of Willenhall|Frederick William Hackwood

(b) Persons holding land of the manor by copy of court roll, or copyhold tenants.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for copyhold

copyhold

noun law (formerly)

a tenure less than freehold of land in England evidenced by a copy of the Court roll
land held in this way

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012