What does jointure mean?
A jointure is principally a historical legal term for an arrangement under which property was settled on a husband and wife, usually to secure the wife’s financial position if she survived him. Such arrangements were especially associated with marriage settlements and could provide income or property during her widowhood. The word can also denote the broader act of joining or uniting, but this sense is now archaic. In contemporary writing, “jointure” appears most often in discussions of old marriage law, property settlements, and historical documents. The term is useful because it names both the formal settlement and the resulting protected interest, reflecting an earlier legal and social concern with providing for women who might otherwise have limited property rights. In ordinary modern English, a general synonym such as “union” or “joining” will usually be more appropriate.
nounIn historical English law, a settlement of property on a husband and wife, or an estate held under such a settlement. The word can also mean a joining or union.
- A historical legal settlement of property on a husband and wife, or the estate resulting from such a settlement.
- The act of joining or uniting; a junction.
"The marriage settlement included a jointure that provided for her financial security if she became a widow."
"The trustees administered the jointure and paid the income to her in accordance with the settlement."
"The jointure of the two regions was proposed as a way to strengthen their alliance."
The plural is used for multiple property settlements of this kind and is now chiefly historical or legal.
"The records described several jointures created by eighteenth-century marriage settlements."
In marriage law, a jointure was a financial safety net: property settled in advance so a wife would not be left destitute.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does jointure come from?
“Jointure” entered English from French jointure, which was derived from Latin junctura, a joining or connection. The Latin word was based on the past participle of jungere, “to join,” the same root found in English “junction” and “juncture.” The legal sense developed through the concept of property being brought into joint ownership or settled for the benefit of spouses.
Related word forms
How jointure is actually used
The legal sense is now chiefly historical, while the sense meaning a joining or union is archaic. In modern usage, the word is chiefly encountered in legal history and older literature.
Easily confused with jointure
A juncture is a particular point in time or a point at which two things meet, whereas a jointure is a legal property settlement or, archaically, a joining together.