marchet

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A pecuniary fine anciently paid by a tenant, serf, or bondsman to his lord for the liberty of disposing of a daughter in marriage. This payment, called in law Latin marcheta or mercheta mulierum (the mark-fee of women), was exacted in England, Scotland, and most other countries of Europe. See the quotation.

Wiktionary

1. n. Alternative form of merchet.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. In old English and in Scots law, a fine paid to the lord of the soil by a tenant upon the marriage of one the tenant's daughters.