[mort.main] n [ME morte-mayne, fr. MF mortemain, fr. OF, fr. morte (fem. of mort dead) + main hand, fr. L manus--more at manual] (15c) 1 a: an inalienable possession of lands or buildings by an ecclesiastical or other corporation b: the condition of property or other gifts left to a corporation in perpetuity esp. for religious, charitable, or public purposes
2: the influence of the past regarded as controlling the present