Mortmain

[mɔ:tmein]

Definition

(noun.) real property held inalienably (as by an ecclesiastical corporation).

Typed by Jeanette--From WordNet

Definition

(n.) Possession of lands or tenements in, or conveyance to, dead hands, or hands that cannot alienate.

Typist: Mag

Definition

n. the transfer of property to a corporation which is said to be a dead hand or one that can never part with it again.—Statutes of mortmain acts of parliament restricting or forbidding the giving of property to religious houses.

Typist: Pearl