mortmain
/ˈmɔɹt.meɪn/noun
mortmain is spelled M-O-R-T-M-A-I-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mortmain means “The perpetual, inalienable possession of lands by a corporation or non-personal entity such as a church” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mortmain is mortmains.
How many letters and syllables are in mortmain?
| Letters | 8: M-O-R-T-M-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 29 million words; the 163,711th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is mortmain?
Mortmain appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mortmain?
- UK /ˈmɔːt.meɪn/
- US /ˈmɔɹt.meɪn/
Mortmain has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mortmain.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of mortmain
- mortmains plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mortmain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The perpetual, inalienable possession of lands by a corporation or non-personal entity such as a church.
- 2
A strong and inalienable possession.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mortmain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense inalienable possession of lands:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mainmorte |
| Spanish | manos muertas |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mortmain come from?
From Anglo-Norman mortmayn, morte meyn, from Old French mortes meins, after Late Latin phrase mortua manus. See Latin mortuus (“dead”) + manus (“hand”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).