An estate tail ; an estate of inheritance given to a man and the heirs of his body, or limited to certain classes of particular heirs. It corresponds to the fciiiluintallialum of the feudal law, and the idea is believed to have been borrowed from the Roman law, where, by way of fidei cimiininsu, lands might be entailed upon children and fivedmcu and their descendants, with restrictions as to ali -nation. 1 Washb. RealProp. *<>(
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
