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allodial

allodial

1 9.9
Land that a person owns completely and does not owe rent or other duties
  • adjective
  • /əˈloʊdiəl/
  • Specialized
: alodial
  • Historically, only a few families held allodial titles, meaning they owned their land outright without any feudal obligations.

Examples

  • The concept of allodial land ownership is important in discussions about property rights and independence.

  • If they no longer have the original, each and every one of us with a birth certificate can lay allodial claim to our person.

    Blog text (8)
  • All but a small amount of allodial land in France was feudal in tenure, subject to some kind of lordly authority.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Many landowners in the region are seeking to obtain allodial title, which allows them complete ownership without obligations to a landlord.

Antonyms

19 7.7

A system where lords own land and farmers work it for protection

Surface Forms

allodial positive

Morphology

allodial = allodium (opaque) = allod + ial

The element 'allod' (and the related noun 'allodium') is a rare, technical legal term unfamiliar to most learners, so the adjective's meaning is not derivable by a B1 learner from its parts.

Etymology

Allodial comes from Latin allodium, which comes from an old German word alod meaning 'complete ownership'. A helpful way to remember it is to think 'all yours'—allodial land is land you own outright, with no lord, rent, or other duties.