Mortmain (Noun)
Meaning 1
Real property held inalienably (as by an ecclesiastical corporation).
Classification
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession.
Examples
- The church's vast holdings of land were considered mortmain, and thus could not be sold or transferred to private ownership.
- Historically, the English monarchy had long been wary of the accumulation of mortmain by the Catholic Church.
- The Statute of Mortmain, enacted in 1279, prohibited the acquisition of land by ecclesiastical corporations without a royal license.
- As a result of the statute, many ecclesiastical corporations were forced to divest themselves of their mortmain holdings.
- The concept of mortmain was seen as a threat to the power of the monarch, as it allowed the church to accumulate wealth and influence beyond the king's control.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
The oppressive influence of past events or decisions.
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- The town was stuck in a state of mortmain, unable to progress due to the weight of its troubled history.
- Decades of conflict had left the region in a mortmain, where the ghosts of past atrocities continued to haunt the present.
- The family's dark past cast a mortmain over their relationships, making it difficult for them to trust one another.
- The city's outdated infrastructure was a mortmain, stifling innovation and hindering growth.
- The country's economy was trapped in a mortmain, unable to escape the legacy of its former colonial rulers.