peculium

/ (pɪˈkjuːlɪəm) /

noun

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

Nearby words

peculiar, peculiar institution, peculiar people, peculiarity, peculiarize, peculium, pecuniary, pecuniary advantage, pecunious, ped, ped-

Word Origin for peculium

C17: from Latin; see peculiar

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

Examples from the Web for peculium

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
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 "peculium" is, of course, elastic, and there is no particular place for drawing the line in the banker's book.
Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853)|Various
A son could acquire no property but with his father's consent, and what he thus acquired was called his peculium as of a slave.
Roman Antiquities, and Ancient Mythology|Charles K. Dillaway

If they were not slaves they could not have peculium in the technical sense.
The Letters of Cassiodorus|Cassiodorus (AKA Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator)