socage

American  

[sok-ij] / ˈsɒk ɪdʒ /

Or soccage

noun

Medieval English Law.

1. a tenure of land held by the tenant in performance of specified services or by payment of rent, and not requiring military service.

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socage British  

/ ˈsɒkɪdʒ /

noun

1. English legal history the tenure of land by certain services, esp of an agricultural nature

2. English law the freehold tenure of land

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Other Word Forms

• socager
  noun

Etymology

Origin of socage

1275–1325; Middle English sokage < Anglo-French socage, equivalent to soc soke + -age -age

Example Sentences

Not in free and common socage, but in this amphibious subordinate class of villein socage.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

Soke′man=Socman; Sō′ken, a district held by tenure of socage: a miller's right to the grinding of all the corn within a certain manor.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

But did any hold of the king in socage, except on his demesne lands?

From View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 by Hallam, Henry

If the tenant was in an office about the king's person, this gave rise to sergeantry; the persons who cultivated his lands may be considered as holding by socage.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 07 (of 12) by Burke, Edmund

His right to the land, in fact, was not freehold, but tenure by villein socage.

From The Philippine Islands by Foreman, John