Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
mortgager
mortgagor
mortice
mortician
mortification
mortify
mortise
mortise lock
mortmain
Morton Grove
mortuary
mortuary science
morula
morwong
MOS
mos.
Mosaic
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "mortmain" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

mortmain

mort·main [ máwrt màyn ]


noun 
Definition:
 
1. perpetual ownership of property: the perpetual, nontransferable, and nonsalable ownership of property by organizations such as churches

2. influence of past on present: the usually stultifying or stifling influence of the past on current events and living people

[13th century. Via Anglo-Norman, Old French< medieval Latin mortua manus "dead hand"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
MSN Shopping
Upgrade your Encarta experience
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft