Usufruct
/ˈjuːzjʊˌfrʌkt/noun
The legal right to use and enjoy the fruits or benefits of someone else’s property without destroying its substance.
Did you know?Usufruct comes from Roman legal language: *usus* meant use, and *fructus* meant enjoyment or produce, so the word literally frames property as something you may consume only by right, not by possession.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
ūsus fructus
“use and enjoyment of the fruits or produce of property”
Classical Latin
Latin
ūsus
“use, practice, enjoyment”
Classical Latin
Latin
fructus
“fruit, produce, profit, enjoyment”
Old French
Old French
usufruit
“legal right to use and enjoy the produce of property”
14th Century
English
usufruct
“a legal right to use and derive profit from property owned by another”