"The earth belongs in USUFRUCT to the living" ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

from usus et fructus: use and enjoyment

"Usufruct" is a legal term describing the right to use and derive profit orr benefit from someone else's property without damaging or altering it. It involves enjoying the advantages of another's property as long as it is not permanently changed or destroyed. The term has Latin origins, derived from "usus" (use) and "fructus" (enjoyment).

Here are five sample sentences using "usufruct":

1. In the will, the landowner granted his niece the usufruct of his estate, allowing her to live on the property and use its resources.
2. The company leased the factory under a usufruct agreement, enabling them to utilize the space for production without altering its structure.
3. As per the terms of the contract, the artist retained the usufruct of the painting, receiving royalties for each reproduction sold.
4. The temporary usufruct of the vehicle allowed the family to travel cross-country without assuming ownership.
5. Under the usufructuary rights, the tenant farmer cultivated the land, reaping the crops, but couldn't sell or permanently modify the fields.

The Word for the Day July 12, 2009 is usufruct • \YOO-zuh-frukt\ • noun

*1 : the legal right of using and enjoying the fruits or profits of something belonging to another

2 : the right to use or enjoy something

Example Sentence:

Dorothy's will bequeathed one-third of her estate to her husband; the remaining two-thirds was bequeathed to him as a lifetime usufruct, later to be donated to charity.