MORTMAIN

mortmain. Mortmain, n. an entailed or unalienable estate

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Mort″main′ (?), n. [[F. mort, morte, dead + main hand; F. main-morte. See Mortal, and Manual.]] (Law) Possession of lands or tenements in, or conveyance to, dead hands, or hands that cannot alienate. ☞ The term was originally applied to conveyance of land made to ecclesiastical bodies; afterward to conveyance made to any corporate body. Burrill.