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| mort·main [ máwrt màyn ] |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. perpetual ownership of property: the perpetual, nontransferable, and nonsalable ownership of property by organizations such as churches
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2. influence of past on present: the usually stultifying or stifling influence of the past on current events and living people
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| [13th century. Via Anglo-Norman, Old French< medieval Latin mortua manus "dead hand"] |
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