writ of besaile
Preserved but no longer current.
An old legal term mean- ing:— A writ that lies for the heire, where his great grandfather was seized the day that he died, or died seised of Land in fee-simple, and a stranger enters the day of the death of the great grandfather, or abates after his death, the heire shall have writ against such a disseisor or abater. — Termes de la Ley (1641).
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 “writ of besaile” mean?
An old legal term mean- ing:— A writ that lies for the heire, where his great grandfather was seized the day that he died, or died seised of Land in fee-simple, and a stranger enters the day of the death of the great grandfather, or abates after his death, the heire shall have writ against such a disseisor or abater. — Termes de la Ley (1641).
Is “writ of besaile” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.