CURTESY


Meaning of CURTESY in English

ˈkərd.əsē noun

or curtesy initiate

( plural curtesies or curtesies initiate )

Etymology: Middle English curtasy, curteisie, corteisie curtesy, courteous behavior — more at courtesy

: the future potential interest that a husband has in all real estate in which his wife has an estate of inheritance arising upon the birth to them of a child alive and capable for an instant of inheriting from her the interest at common law and that is as often defined by statute, a life estate for his life or sometimes a one-third interest in fee which becomes consummate upon his surviving his wife and thereby having the right of enjoyment

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.