usufruct

American  

[yoo-zoo-fruhkt, -soo-, yooz-yoo-, yoos-] / ˈju zʊˌfrʌkt, -sʊ-, ˈjuz jʊ-, ˈjus- /

noun

Roman and Civil Law.

1. 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.

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usufruct British  

/ ˈjuːsjʊˌfrʌkt /

noun

1. 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

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Other Word Forms

• usufructuary
  noun

Etymology

Origin of usufruct

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

Explanation

Usufruct describes using someone else's property as long as you don't harm it. City gardeners, who are known for planting vegetable patches in empty lots, assume the right of usufruct. Usufruct, pronounced "YOO-zuh-fruct," was an aspect of ancient Roman law which stated that citizens could use and even profit from another person's land or property as long as it wasn't wasted or destroyed. Various countries still use usufruct as a way to allow people to use land they don't own or as part of inheritance law. The word usufruct comes from the Latin phrase usus et fructus: "use and enjoyment."

Example Sentences

With that proposition the savant Proudhon 11 commenced his "Treatise on the Right of Usufruct," regarding the origin of property as a useless question.

From What is Property? by Proudhon, P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph)

Usufruct, ū′zū-frukt; n. the use and profit, but not the property, of a thing: liferent.—v.t. to hold in usufruct.—adj.

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

Usufruct or property, the State, in either case, inherits; at the most we might grant temporary aid to the family, which is not even entitled to maintenance.

From The French Revolution - Volume 3 by Durand, John