peculium

/ (pɪˈkjuːlɪəm) /


noun
  1. Roman law property that a father or master allowed his child or slave to hold as his own

Origin of peculium

1
C17: from Latin; see peculiar

Words Nearby peculium

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use peculium in a sentence

  • Thus the slave gets a chance of acquiring what will be as a matter of fact a peculium.

    Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland
  • The gains of the 'filii familias Assessores' were to be protected as if they were 'castrense peculium.'

    The Letters of Cassiodorus | Cassiodorus (AKA Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator)
  • At present each prisoner has a peculium, or at all events it is within his power to create one.

    Old and New Paris, v. 2 | Henry Sutherland Edwards
  • The institution of the peculium, or private fund, is of the first necessity for this purpose.

    Old and New Paris, v. 2 | Henry Sutherland Edwards
  • The "peculium" is, of course, elastic, and there is no particular place for drawing the line in the banker's book.