cestui que vie
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
This and the two following are old Anglo-French legal terms (cestui — he or him). The person for whose life any lands or hereditaments may be held.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “cestui que vie” mean?
This and the two following are old Anglo-French legal terms (cestui — he or him). The person for whose life any lands or hereditaments may be held.
Is “cestui que vie” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.