severalty

American  

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

noun

• severalties
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• severalties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of severalty

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

severalty

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)

These number about fifty thousand persons, deduction being made of such as already have their lands in severalty, or as are hopelessly scattered among the settlements.

From The Indian Question (1874) by Walker, Francis Amasa

Next may come that part of the territory which is not occupied in severalty but used in common.

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

In 1854 the main body in the Indian Territory disbanded their tribal organization and divided their lands in severalty.

From Descriptive Catalogue of Photographs of North American Indians by Jackson, W. H.

If the society has formed no rules for the appropriation of its lands in severalty, it will be taken by the first occupants, and these will generally be the wife and children of the decedent.

From Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 3 by Randolph, Thomas Jefferson