entailment

noun

en·​tail·​ment in-ˈtāl-mənt 

en-

plural entailments

: the act or an instance of entailing something

specifically, estate law : the act or an instance of restricting the inheritance of property to the owner's lineal descendants or to a particular class thereof

They came from places where for centuries, economic development had been hindered because nobles controlled most of the land. Which was passed down by primogeniture and entailment, generation after generation, to the eldest son.

—Brooke Harrington

She recognizes one of the men …, a poor farmer whom Atticus has been helping practically gratis to fight the entailment on his land.

—Sara Holdren

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1641, in the meaning defined above