What does cadastre mean?
A cadastre is an official, systematic register of real property within a given area, recording details such as ownership, boundaries, area, and often assessed value. Maintained by governments or municipalities, it serves as the authoritative reference for land administration, property taxation, legal transactions, and planning. The word is most at home in technical fields—surveying, law, geomatics, and public administration—and appears frequently in compounds such as 'cadastral map' and 'cadastral survey'. Although unfamiliar to many general readers, the concept behind it is ancient: rulers have long needed accurate records of who owns what in order to levy taxes fairly and resolve disputes over land. Modern digital cadastres underpin everything from title deeds to infrastructure planning, making this unglamorous word central to how societies organize one of their most valuable assets: the ground beneath them.
nounAn official public record or register of the ownership, extent, and value of real property within a jurisdiction, used especially as a basis for taxation and land administration.
- An official register of real property showing ownership, boundaries, and value, typically maintained by a government for taxation and land administration purposes.
"The municipality updated its cadastre before reassessing property taxes for the coming year."
"The national cadastre records the boundaries and owners of every parcel of land in the country."
"Surveyors cross-checked their measurements against the municipal cadastre before issuing the new deed."
Regular plural formation.
"Several provinces maintain independent cadastres covering their respective territories."
Napoleon built his empire on paperwork: his famous cadastral survey of France mapped every parcel of land so taxes could finally be levied fairly.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cadastre
The word 'cadastre' entered English in the late eighteenth century from French 'cadastre', which derives from Italian 'catastro', ultimately tracing back to Greek 'katastikhon', meaning a register or list drawn up line by line ('kata' meaning 'down' or 'according to' and 'stichos' meaning 'row' or 'line'). The same Greek root 'kata-' appears in words like 'catastrophe'. The term gained particular prominence with Napoleon's comprehensive cadastral survey of early nineteenth-century France.
Related word forms
How cadastre is actually used
A technical term used mainly in land administration, law, surveying, and government contexts. In everyday English it is rare; 'land registry' is the more familiar equivalent in British usage.
Easily confused with cadastre
A cadastre is an official land-ownership registry, while a catastrophe is a sudden, disastrous event; they share a Greek prefix but nothing else.