undivided right
- noun
- Formal
:
derecho indiviso
- Under joint tenancy, all parties share an undivided right to use and enjoy the property.
Examples
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Each co-owner held an undivided right to the entire piece of land.
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They share an undivided right to the family estate.
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The concept of undivided right prevents any one tenant from claiming a specific portion of the property.
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Each partner has an undivided right to the property.
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Each co-owner held an undivided right to the entire piece of land.
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Under joint tenancy, all parties share an undivided right to use and enjoy the property.
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The concept of undivided right prevents any one tenant from claiming a specific portion of the property.
Synonyms
667
1.6
A part of money, food or property given to someone
A share giving each owner equal rights to the whole property
How Exclusive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is compositional: 'undivided' (not split/separate) modifies 'right' (a legal entitlement), so the meaning of a right that is not divided among owners can be directly inferred from the parts. Although it is a technical legal term, the semantic relation is transparent and has clear parallels in many languages (e.g. Spanish 'derecho indiviso'), so a learner who knows both constituents should be able to understand the basic meaning.
Etymology
Undivided right comes from the picture of people sharing a whole cake that is not cut: each person can claim the entire cake, not a separate slice. So undivided means 'not divided' and right means a claim to use, which is why the phrase means each co-owner can use and enjoy the whole property rather than a separate part.