usufruct

[ yoo-zoo-fruhkt, -soo-, yooz-yoo-, yoos- ]

nounRoman and Civil Law.

the right of enjoying all the advantages derivable from the use of something that belongs to another, as far as is compatible with the substance of the thing not being destroyed or injured.

Origin of usufruct

1620–30; <Late Latin ūsūfrūctus, equivalent to Latin ūsū, ablative of ūsus (see use (noun)) + frūctus (see fruit)

Words Nearby usufruct

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use usufruct in a sentence

However they may hire out the usufruct of their voices, they never will part with the fee and inheritance.
Thoughts on the Present Discontents | Edmund Burke
It is "owned" by the individual in usufruct, but cannot be sold, given away, or otherwise alienated.
Concerning Children | Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The usufruct of the new science has been seized upon by the old tradition of fixed and external ends.
Human Nature and Conduct | John Dewey
The owner of the nkele had over his land a little less than dominium and a little more than usufruct.
The Fijians | Basil Thomson
All these cases amounted to little more than the transfer of the usufruct of the land for life or for an uncertain period.
The Fijians | Basil Thomson

British Dictionary definitions for usufruct

usufruct

/ (ˈjuːsjʊˌfrʌkt) /

noun

the right to use and derive profit from a piece of property belonging to another, provided the property itself remains undiminished and uninjured in any way

Origin of usufruct

C17: from Late Latin ūsūfrūctus, from Latin ūsus use + frūctus enjoyment

Derived forms of usufruct

usufructuary, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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