Definition of gavelkind in English:
gavelkind
noun ˈɡav(ə)lkʌɪndˈɡavəlˌkīnd
mass nounhistorical A system of inheritance in which a deceased person's land is divided equally among all male heirs.
Example sentencesExamples
- Only in Kent and in Wales did the custom of gavelkind produce the partible inheritance which reduced many noble families to penury on the continent.
- The Irish gavelkind, it will be seen, is quite different from the gavelkind customary in the county of Kent.
- The redistribution by gavelkind on each occasion extended to the clan or sept - not beyond.
- In particular, it appeared to the Crown that they were relying on the customs of tanistry and gavelkind.
- Undeniably, however, subdivision of holdings took place on a large scale and continued to do so notwithstanding the formal abolition of gavelkind following the union with England.
Origin
Middle English: from obsolete gavel 'payment, rent' + kind1.