severalty
Americannoun
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the state of being separate.
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Law.
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(of an estate, especially land) the condition of being held or owned by separate and individual right.
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an estate held or owned by individual right.
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noun
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the state of being several or separate
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(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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of severalty
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Anglo-French word severalte. See several, -ty 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.
They have lands allotted to them in severalty, and have made considerable advancement in agriculture and civilization, though they still follow the chase to some extent.
From The Indian Question (1874) by Walker, Francis Amasa
It has no record of the number of Indians who have accepted its offer of the vote as a reward for taking up land in severalty.
From The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume V by Harper, Ida Husted
The Dawes Act of 1887 had substituted severalty for tribal landholdings among the Indians.
From The New Nation by Dodd, William E.
The civilized tenure of property in severalty must be substituted for communal property. 3d.
From First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1879-1880, Government Printing Office 1881 by Various
An allotment of land in severalty has been directed to be made, much to the gratification and encouragement of the tribes.
From The Indian Question (1874) by Walker, Francis Amasa
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.
