mortmain

American  

[mawrt-meyn] / ˈmɔrtˌmeɪn /

noun

Law.

1. the condition of lands or tenements held without right of alienation, as by an ecclesiastical corporation; inalienable ownership.

2. the perpetual holding of land, especially by a corporation or charitable trust.

---

mortmain British  

/ ˈmɔːtˌmeɪn /

noun

1. law the state or condition of lands, buildings, etc, held inalienably, as by an ecclesiastical or other corporation

---

Etymology

Origin of mortmain

1250–1300; Middle English mort ( e ) mayn ( e ) < Anglo-French mortemain, translation of Medieval Latin mortua manus dead hand

Example Sentences

We have often wished for some statute akin to mortmain to remove the dead hand of tradition from the domain of ideas.

From Time Magazine Archive

The leniency of the Government hitherto and the commercial energy of many religious orders, manufacturers of articles varying from chartreuse to hair-restorers and dentifrice, had enabled them to amass enormous sums held in mortmain.

From A History of the Third French Republic by Wright, C. H. C. (Charles Henry Conrad)

Title, deed, 254; adverse possession, 257; proof of, 265, 266, 280; monks in California, 268; divided church, 290; mortmain, 340; cemetery lot, 439.

From The Clergyman's Hand-book of Law by Scanlan, Charles M.

Compare mortuary, mortal, mortify, mortmain; also compare engage, disengage, wage, wager. repulsed.

From Stories from Tagore by Tagore, Rabindranath

Perhaps; for he would have no love for the Church even here, and he is obviously hostile to anything in the nature of mortmain.

From Anarchism by Eltzbacher, Paul