deodand

American  

[dee-uh-dand] / ˈdi əˌdænd /

noun

English Law.

1. (before 1846) an animal or article that, having been the immediate cause of the death of a human being, was forfeited to the crown to be applied to pious uses.

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deodand British  

/ ˈdiːəʊˌdænd /

noun

1. English law (formerly) a thing that had caused a person's death and was forfeited to the crown for a charitable purpose: abolished 1862

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Etymology

Origin of deodand

1520–30; < Medieval Latin deōdandum (a thing) to be given to God < Latin deō to God (dative singular of deus ) + dandum to be given (neuter gerund of dare to give)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deodand

Newstead Abbey or Priory was founded by Henry II., by way of deodand or expiation for the murder of Thomas Becket.

From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 6 by Ernest Hartley Coleridge

The deodand seems to have been looked upon as a species of rude penalty imposed on the use of dangerous appliances, a sharp reminder to the companies to look sharply after their locomotives and employés. 

From Railway Adventures and Anecdotes extending over more than fifty years by Various

If a man fell from a tree, the tree was deodand.

From The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes

The encounter fortunately took place upon a Friday, so that the combatants had both Saturday and Sunday, with the deodand of a slight fine for being absent from chapel, to recover appearances.

From Alec Forbes of Howglen by George MacDonald

If a horse or other animal in motion killed a person, whether infant or adult, or if a cart ran over him, it was forfeited as a deodand.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 "Demijohn" to "Destructor" by Various