severalty

American  

[sev-er-uhl-tee, sev-ruhl-] / ˈsɛv ər əl ti, ˈsɛv rəl- /

noun

plural

severalties

1. the state of being separate.

2. Law.

   1. (of an estate, especially land) the condition of being held or owned by separate and individual right.

   2. an estate held or owned by individual right.

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severalty British  

/ ˈsɛvrəltɪ /

noun

1. the state of being several or separate

2. (usually preceded by in) property law the tenure of property, esp land, in a person's own right and not jointly with another or others

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Etymology

Origin of severalty

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Anglo-French word severalte. See several, -ty ²

Example Sentences

The Dawes Act of 1887 had substituted severalty for tribal landholdings among the Indians.

From The New Nation by Dodd, William E.

They were assigned a new reservation on the Omaha lands, where they now remain, occupying lands allotted in severalty.

From The Siouan Indians by McGee, W. J. (William John)

Land tenure does not begin in grants from the monarch or the feudal lord, but a system of tenure in common by gentes or tribes is developed into a system of tenure in severalty.

From On Limitations To The Use Of Some Anthropologic Data by Powell, John Wesley

The colony now began to prosper; men held their lands in severalty, and taxes were low.

From Comic History of the United States by Opper, F.

Of course, by the side of these communal meadows we frequently find others that were owned in severalty.

From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul