fee simple absolute
- noun
- Formal
:
pleno dominio absoluto
- A homeowner who possesses their property in fee simple absolute has the complete right to sell or modify it at their discretion.
Examples
-
Land held in fee simple absolute can be sold in several ways
Academic text (1993) -
In the United States, if one owns property in fee simple absolute, it means one owns the land from the surface of the soil down to the center of the planet.
Academic text (1993) -
That must be seen in terms of fee simple absolute, an idea underpinning the property concept.
Academic text (1993) -
Property laws, the Constitution, common practice, ideology, and America's material success have been built on the rock of fee simple absolute.
Academic text (1993) -
Fee simple absolute is a principle constitutive of the property of the wealthy, as it is the property of the poor.
Academic text (1993) -
The principle of fee simple absolute is derived from medieval law, and it flourished in Anglo-Saxon Britain.
Academic text (1993) -
The organic principle of the capitalist state, the sine qua non of modern society, fee simple absolute, is the foundation of American life.
Academic text (1993) -
When a person owns land in fee simple absolute, they have the right to use it as they wish, without restrictions from others.
-
The concept of fee simple absolute grants landowners total ownership rights, allowing them to make any legal changes to the property.
Synonyms
33
9.3
A right to land that can be passed to your children
1
8.2
The right to own a building and the land for as long as you want, not rented
1
9.8
Full ownership of land without time limit that you can sell or leave to anyone
Land that someone owns completely with no duties to a lord
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'fee' (a legal estate) and 'absolute' (unrestricted) do suggest full, unconditional ownership, so a learner who knows these words could approximate the meaning. However, this is a specialized legal phrase and 'simple' has an archaic/legal sense ('without conditions') that is not part of everyday composition, so the precise legal meaning is not fully predictable to a typical B1 learner.
Etymology
Fee simple absolute comes from old land law: fee used to mean land given by a lord, and simple and absolute meant there were no special conditions. So the picture is of an owner holding land without limits, which is why it means 'complete ownership' today.