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)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deodand

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

Where a man is killed by a vessel at rest the cargo is not deodand; where the vessel is under sail, hull and cargo are both deodand.

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

"I wonder if you couldn't get 'em to try Andrew," hazarded Tutt, "and maybe declare him forfeited to somebody as a deodand."

From Tutt and Mr. Tutt by Arthur Cheney Train

And so Farmer Caresfoot became the lawful owner of Bratham Abbey with its two advowsons, its royal franchises of treasure-trove and deodand, and more than a thousand acres of the best land in Marlshire.

From Dawn by Henry Rider Haggard

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

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