mort d'ancestor

noun

A case or writ relating to the recovery of an inherited estate that has been taken or occupied by another party following the death of a relative.

OriginAnglo-Norman mordauncestre ← Old French mort d'ancestre →
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Meanings

nounmort d'ancestor (uncountable)

alternative mortdancester

  1. obsoleteuncountablelawA case or writ relating to the recovery of an inherited estate that has been taken or occupied by another party following the death of a relative.

    If the abatement happened upon the death of the demandant’s father or mother, brother or sister, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, the remedy is by an assize of mort d’ancestor, or the death of one’s ancestor.

    1768, William Blackstone, chapter 10, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book III (Of Private Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 185

Origin

  1. Old Frenchmort d'ancestre“death of ancestor”
  2. Anglo-Normanmordauncestre
  3. Englishmort d'ancestor

From Anglo-Norman mordauncestre, from Old French mort d'ancestre (“death of ancestor”).

More words from Anglo-Norman, Old French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mort d'ancestor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mort%20d'ancestor

MLA

“mort d'ancestor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mort%20d'ancestor. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mort d'ancestor,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mort%20d'ancestor.

Source: mort d'ancestor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.