entail
noun
Entail — the legal binding of property to a fixed line of inheritance
Definition
The act of entailing property; the creation of a fee tail from a fee simple
In depth
An entail is the act of entailing property, a legal mechanism creating a fee tail from a fee simple, restricting how an estate may be inherited, typically binding it to a specific line of descendants and preventing its sale or division outside that line. The word names a particular, formal legal restraint on ownership, once central to inheritance law in property-owning families.
Origin
The word descends from Old French taillier, to cut or shape, by way of the legal term 'fee tail,' itself meaning a limited or 'cut' form of inheritance, as opposed to a 'fee simple,' an unrestricted form of ownership. Its prominence in classic literature, especially the works of Jane Austen, has made the legal mechanism widely familiar even to readers with no formal legal training.
Usage examples
"The entail had passed the estate down through five generations of eldest sons, regardless of their individual merit or interest."
"Breaking the entail required an act of Parliament, a process few families ever successfully pursued."
"The novel's central crisis turns on an entail that excludes the daughters from any claim to their father's estate."
How to use it
Entail is specialized legal and historical vocabulary, most familiar today through period literature, particularly nineteenth-century British fiction, where the practice's effect on inheritance, especially its frequent exclusion of female heirs, often drives significant plot tension.
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