gavelkind
Americannoun
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(originally) a tenure of land in which the tenant was liable for a rental in money or produce rather than for labor or military service.
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a customary system of land tenure whose chief feature was equal division of land among the heirs of the holder.
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the land so held.
noun
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a former system of land tenure peculiar to Kent based on the payment of rent to the lord instead of the performance of services by the tenant
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the land subject to such tenure
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English law (formerly) land held under this system
Etymology
Origin of gavelkind
1175–1225; Middle English gavelkinde, gavlikind, Old English gafel gavel 2 + ( ge ) cynd kind 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Generally, however, Borough English, apart from specialties, may be said to differ from gavelkind in not including collaterals.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various
It is to this remarkable peculiarity that gavelkind no doubt owes its local popularity.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various
Land tenure, tribal, 6; primogeniture, 11, 12; gavelkind, 11, 12; in the 18th century, 65, 66.
From Is Ulster Right? by Anonymous
The estates of persons dying intestate are distributed analogous to the custom of gavelkind in Kent.
From History of New Brunswick by Fisher, Peter
Where the custom of gavelkind prevails, the widow's share is a half, and that of free-bench gives her the whole or a portion of a copyhold, according to the custom of the manor.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
