Mortmain definition

môrtmān

A legal arrangement in which a property owner such as an ecclesiastical institution is barred from transferring or selling its property.

noun

A transfer of lands or houses to a corporate body, such as a school, church, or charitable organization, for perpetual ownership.

noun

Such ownership.

noun

The permanent holding of lands by an ecclesiastical organization, without the right to dispose of them.

noun

(law) The perpetual, inalienable possession of lands by a corporation or non-personal entity such as a church.

noun

(literary) A strong and inalienable possession.

noun

Other Word Forms

Singular:

mortmain

Plural:

mortmains

Middle English mortemayne from Old French mortemain morte feminine of mort dead mortgage main hand (from Latin manus man-² in Indo-European roots)

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Anglo-Norman mortmayn, morte meyn, from Old French mortes meins, after Late Latin phrase mortua manus. See Latin mors ("dead") + manus ("hand").

From Wiktionary