seisin
Americannoun
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(originally) possession of either land or chattel.
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the kind of possession or right to possession characteristic of estates of freehold.
noun
Etymology
Origin of seisin
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French saisine, equivalent to sais(ir) “to take, seize” + -ine noun suffix; see origin at seize, -in(e) 2
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.
The honest merchant—whom God kept in charge—went forth with a light heart, that leaped and fluttered in his breast, because of the wealth he had in seisin.
From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Eugene Mason
The covenant for seisin was an assurance to the grantee that the grantor had the estate which he purported to convey.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6 "Coucy-le-Château" to "Crocodile" by Various
Next he discovered another possession—or so it seemed—approached it and took seisin of it in the same dumb way; and so with another and another.
From The Long Night by Stanley John Weyman
Clement took the hint and bettered the line with a crownpiece, and hastening back to his inn he took seisin of a seat in the coffee room which commanded the main street.
From Ovington's Bank by Stanley J. Weyman
B. Lat. to seise, give seisin or livery of land, 251, 2518.
From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
