Meanings
nounapron-string hold (plural apron-string holds)
plural apron-string holds
- idiomaticinformalobsoleteAn estate held by a man during his wife's life.
He resided at Staleck and the fief made was converted into an "apron-string hold" and hereditary fief, for the benefit of his wife and daughter; for that in opposition to the Emperor himself, he had remained firm to the Archbishop in a Diet held at Mainz.
1872, W. O. von Horn, The Rhine: History and Legends of Its Castles, Abbeys, Monasteries, and Towns, J. Niedner, page 270
Cite this entry
APA
apron-string hold. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apron-string%20hold
MLA
“apron-string hold.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apron-string%20hold. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “apron-string hold,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apron-string%20hold.
Source: apron-string hold on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.