owelty Law.
(ˈəʊəltɪ)
Also 6–8 ovelty, 8 ovealty.
[a. AF. owelté, earlier oeltet (Oxf. Psalter):—L. æquālitāt-em, f. æquāl-is (OF. ewal, owel, oel, etc.) equal.]
Equality.
(The AF. adj. owel ‘equal’ (Britton I. 251, II. 79, etc.), does not appear to have come into Eng. use.)
| 1579 Rastell Expos. Termes Lawe, Oweltie, is when there is Lord, mesne, and tenant, and the tenant holdeth of the mesne by the same seruices, that the mesne holdeth ouer of y⊇ lord aboue him. 1596 Bacon Max. Com. Law iii. (1636) 14 There shall be ten shillings onely reserved upon the gift entaile as for ovelty. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., Owelty or ovelty of services,..an equality of services; as when the tenant paravail owes as much to the mesn, as the mesn does to the lord paramount. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 524 Called a rent for owelty or equality of partition. |