quitrent

American  

[kwit-rent] / ˈkwɪtˌrɛnt /

noun

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

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quitrent British  

/ ˈkwɪtˌrɛnt /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of quitrent

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; quit ¹, rent ¹

Example Sentences

Those who brought in new settlers got headrights of land and could purchase more, but owed an annual quitrent in return.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Well-connected settlers could receive even larger grants, or purchase land for low prices and an annual fee, or quitrent.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

They granted headrights to settlers and sold much larger tracts of land to developers and speculators, subject to an annual quitrent.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

The amount of the quitrent in the Northern Neck was the same as elsewhere in Virginia—two shillings annually for 100 acres.

From Mother Earth Land Grants in Virginia 1607-1699 by Robinson, Walter Stitt

Mountgomery, as Margrave, was to render to the Lords of Carolina an annual quitrent and one-fourth part of all gold and silver found in Azilia.

From Pioneers of the Old South: a chronicle of English colonial beginnings by Johnston, Mary