quitrent

[kwit-rent]

noun

rent paid by a freeholder or copyholder in lieu of services that might otherwise have been required.

Origin of quitrent

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at quit¹, rent¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for quit-rent

Historical Examples of quit-rent

And you can settle with Akm afterward; you can reduce his quit-rent, I suppose.
The Diary of a Superfluous Man and Other Stories
Ivn Turgnieff
He held it on freehold title, with no reservation of quit-rent to the Government.
The African Colony
John Buchan
The quit-rent was handed down from the feudal system of medieval times.
The Stronghold
Miriam Haynie
Here--there is a dollar for you; the quit-rent is paid for this year, at least.
Wyandotte
James Fenimore Cooper
A hundred acres were promised for forty shillings, with a quit-rent of one shilling annually to the proprietor forever.
William Penn
George Hodges

British Dictionary definitions for quit-rent

quitrent

noun

(formerly) a rent payable by a freeholder or copyholder to his lord that released him from liability to perform services

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

Word Origin and History for quit-rent

early 15c., "rent paid by a tenant in exchange for being discharged from required service;" also, "nominal rent as acknowledgment of tenure," from quit (adj.) + rent (n.).