quitrent

American

[kwit-rent] / ˈkwɪtˌrɛnt /

noun

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

quitrent British

/ ˈkwɪtˌrɛnt /

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

Etymology

Origin of quitrent

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

quitrent

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

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

Reforms were proposed that would enhance the royal revenue by collection of the quitrent and would prevent the accumulation of large estates.

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

The company asked only thirteen and one third cents per acre for the land for one year and an added half cent per acre quitrent to begin in 1780.

From Blue Ridge Country by Erskine Caldwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023