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.
For similar reasons he was opposed to entails, and favored the application of the just and equal law of gavelkind to the division of intestate estates.
From Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume II (of 2) A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on his own Writings by Bruce, Wiliam Cabell
The Custumal published among the Statutes speaks of the personal freedom of all Kentish-men, although it has to concern itself specially with the gavelkind tenantry.
From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul
This rule did not apply to lands held in gavelkind in the county of Kent.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various
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
It is known that it existed previous to the conversion of Ireland to Christianity, and that the laws of tanistry and of gavelkind, the customs of gossipred and of fostering, were of pagan origin.
From Irish Race in the Past and the Present by Thebaud, Augustus J.
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.
