Jointure
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A joining; a joint. obsolete
- 2 the act of making or becoming a single unit wordnet
- 3 An estate settled on a wife, which she is to enjoy after her husband's death, for her own life at least, in satisfaction of dower.
"Then, Warwick, thus: our sister shall be Edward’s; / And now forthwith shall articles be drawn / Touching the jointure that your king must make, / Which with her dowry shall be counterpoised."
- 4 (law) an estate secured to a prospective wife as a marriage settlement in lieu of a dower wordnet
- 1 To settle a jointure upon. transitive
"He never ſo much as ask’d me about my Fortune, or Eſtate; but aſſur'd me that vvhen vve came to Dublin he vvould Joynture me in 600l. a Year good Land; and that he vvould enter into a Deed of Settlement, or Contract here, for the Performance of it."
Example
More examples"Then, Warwick, thus: our sister shall be Edward’s; / And now forthwith shall articles be drawn / Touching the jointure that your king must make, / Which with her dowry shall be counterpoised."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English joynture, from Old French jointure, from Latin iūnctūra. Doublet of juncture.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.