ˈgavəlˌkīnd noun
Etymology: Middle English gavelkynde, from gavel (I) + kynde, kinde kind — more at kind
1. : a common-law tenure of land abolished by 1926 but existing chiefly in Kent from Anglo-Saxon times and marked by various peculiar features among which are that (1) upon the death of the tenant in fee intestate the land is divided equally among all the sons or among brothers or other collateral heirs on failure of direct or nearer heirs, (2) a tenant in fee can make disposal of his land by feoffment at the age of 15, (3) there is no escheat upon judgment of death for felony, and (4) the right of dower or curtesy vests in the surviving spouse
2. : the custom of dividing an intestate's estate equally among the sons or other heirs