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Glite Dictionary
land grant

land grant

8 3.7
Public land that a government gives to someone for building colleges or railways
  • noun
  • /lænd ɡrænt/
  • Formal
translation icon : concesión de tierras
  • The national government, for example, made land grants contingent on the building of schools on portions of that land.
  • land grant university
  • land grant colleges
  • land grant institution

So for those of you who don't know this, Purdue is a state supported land grant university and this has a natural focus on STEM research.

Examples

  • Levi, too, received a 640-acre land grant, a tract bordering his brother's.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Participants for this study were Deans from the Colleges of Education in land-grant universities throughout the United States.

    Academic text (1995)

  • And there actually were some free black men who did get land grants in Canada.

  • In return for their services, they would receive land grants.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Establishing an investment fund would encourage the development of small farmer associations to manage a land grant program.

    Academic text (1998)

  • It goes all the way back to the Spanish land grants.

    The Celestine Prophecy (2006)

  • Many of these land grants have the seal of Georgia attached.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Congress had promised the railroads land grants, but the land was not Congress's to give.

    Academic text (2010)

  • So for those of you who don't know this, Purdue is a state supported land grant university and this has a natural focus on STEM research.

    Harvard University

  • In the late 17th century, English colonists with land grants settled northern Virginia.

Synonyms

giveaway
vsland grant
14 4.4

Public land or resources given to private companies at low cost

is an official allocation by government usually for institutions or public projects

How Large

territory
960 3.0
tract
25 5.6
estate
553 4.2
land grant
  • Formal
8 3.7
parcel
25 4.9
plot
81 1.9

Surface Forms

land grant singular
land grants plural

Morphology

land + grant

The meaning 'an official allocation of public land' is directly derivable from combining 'land' (area of earth) with 'grant' (an official bestowal); it follows the common English pattern 'X grant' = 'grant of X'. This compositional structure is cross-linguistically common and should be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The noun land grant comes from when a king or government would grant 'give' pieces of land to people, railways, or schools so they could build or settle. So, land grant now means an official 'giving' of government land to a person or group for something like building a railway or college.