Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as mortmain.
  • noun In Fr. feudal law, a right which the lord had (on the death of the chief of a family which is mainmortable) of taking the best movable in the house.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word mainmort.

Examples

  • But how, in the meantime, is so much freedom compatible with so many species of servitude, as for instance, that of the mainmort?

    A Philosophical Dictionary 2007

  • Owing to the lack of workmen, the increase of imposts, and the prejudice against the mechanic arts, industry was being ruined; while the increased depopulation of the realm, the mainmort of ecclesiastical lands, the majorats of the nobility and the privileges of the Mesta, brought agriculture rapidly into decay.

    The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the XVII Century Clarence Henry Haring 1922

  • Crown constituted a powerfully endowed Church, which, while it did splendid service in converting and civilizing the natives, engrossed much of the land in the form of mainmort, and filled the new world with thousands of idle, unproductive, and often licentious friars.

    The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the XVII Century Clarence Henry Haring 1922

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.