virgate1
[vur-git, -geyt]
- shaped like a rod or wand; long, slender, and straight.
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Origin of virgate1
virgate2
[vur-git, -geyt]
- an early English measure of land of varying extent, usually considered equivalent to a quarter of a hide, or about 30 acres (12 hectares).
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Origin of virgate2
1645–55; < Medieval Latin virgāta (terrae) measure (of land), feminine of Latin virgātus pertaining to a rod; see virgate1; translation Old English gierd landes yard-measure of land
Also called yardland.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for virgate
Historical Examples
The heriot of a virgate was generally an ox, or money payment of its value.
The Enclosures in EnglandHarriett Bradley
But the term 'virgate' does not, like them, speak for itself.
Is it right to assume that this virgate may be taken as a pattern of the rest?
The English Village CommunityFrederic Seebohm
The virgate or yard-land was the normal holding, as it was afterwards.
The English Village CommunityFrederic Seebohm
The word 'virgate,' or 'virgada,' was used in Brittany as well as in England.
The English Village CommunityFrederic Seebohm
virgate1
- long, straight, and thin; rod-shapedvirgate stems
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Word Origin
C19: from Latin virgātus made of twigs, from virga a rod
virgate2
- British an obsolete measure of land area, usually taken as equivalent to 30 acres
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Word Origin
C17: from Medieval Latin virgāta (terrae) a rod's measurement (of land), from Latin virga rod; the phrase is a translation of Old English gierd landes a yard of land
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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