severalty

[ sev-er-uhl-tee, sev-ruhl- ]

noun

, plural sev·er·al·ties.

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.

severalty

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of severalty¹

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

Example Sentences

The group is made up of individuals, and the group's life is the life of individuals carried on in at least ostensible severalty.

From Project Gutenberg

The land is not held in severalty, as in America, but by communities.

From Project Gutenberg

How it came about that these men, besides holding land in severalty, held a tract in common, we are left to guess.

From Project Gutenberg

To Gaul and to Britain they seem to have brought with them the idea that the cultivable land should be allotted in severalty.

From Project Gutenberg

Lastly, as a general rule men do not possess pasture land in severalty; they turn out their beasts on the common of the vill.

From Project Gutenberg