Borough English (Noun)
Meaning
A former English custom by which the youngest son inherited land to the exclusion of his older brothers.
Classification
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession.
Examples
- The practice of borough-English, where the youngest son received the larger share of the land, was a major point of contention among the siblings.
- Borough-English resulted in Thomas, the youngest, claiming the family estate as his own, much to the dismay of his older brothers.
- Historians have struggled to pinpoint the origins of the unusual tradition known as borough-English.
- As the youngest son, Edward expected to receive the majority of the property under the system of borough-English, which had been applied for generations.
- The outdated rule of borough-English led to tensions among family members as the younger sibling was granted a disproportionately large share of the estate.