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mort·main

(môrtmān′)

n.
Law

A legal arrangement in which a property owner such as an ecclesiastical institution is barred from transferring or selling its property.

[Middle English mortemayne, from Old French mortemain : morte, feminine of mort, dead; see MORTGAGE + main, hand (from Latin manus; see man-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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