tontine
tontine
Definition
ton·tine (tän′tēn′, tän tēn′)
noun
- a fund to which a group of persons contribute, the benefits ultimately accruing to the last survivor or to those surviving after a specified time
- the subscribers to such a fund, collectively
- the total fund or the share of each subscriber
- any annuity or insurance system of this kind
Etymology: Fr < It tontina, after Lorenzo Tonti, Neapolitan banker who introduced the system into France in the 17th c.
tontine
Usage Examples
Converse of object
- lose: He should lose the tontine, and with that the last hope of his seven thousand eight hundred pounds.
Modifies a noun
- clause: Like the tontine clause this matrimonial regime allows the survivor of a married couple to inherit the whole of a French property.
Browse dictionary entries near tontine
- tonsured
- tonsure
- tonsorial
- tonsillotomy
- tonsillitis
- tonsillectomy
- tonsil
- tonometer
- tonneau
- tonne
