In the Roman and civil law. A contract by which a landed estate wasleased to a tenant, either in perpetuity or for a long term of years, upon the reservationof an annual rent or canon, and upou the condition that the lessee should improve theproperty, by building, cultivating, or otherwise, and with a right in the lessee to alienthe estate at pleasure or pass it to his heirs by descent, and free from any revocation.re-entry, or claim of forfeiture on the part of the grantor, except for non-payment of therent. Inst. 3. 25, 3; 3 Bl. Comm. 232; Maine, Anc. Law, 2S9.The right granted by such a contract, (jus emphytcuticum, or emphytcuticarium.)The real right by which a person is entitled to enjoy another’s estate as if it were hisown, and to dispose of its substance, as far as can be done without deteriorating it.Mackeld. Rom. Law,
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
