estover

English

Etymology

From Middle English estovers pl, from Old French estover (“obligation”).

Noun

estover (usually uncountable, plural estovers)

1. (archaic, law, history) An allowance provided from an estate for a person's support; an allowance of wood for repairs, firewood and fencing.
   • 1873, Alfred John Horwood, Year Books of the Reign of King Edward the First: XXI-XXII:

     Your husband was seised of only one carucate of land, to which was appurtenant house-bote and hay-bote to be taken in that wood for burning at only one hearth in his chief messuage ; and if you by reason of your third part could in that wood take house-bote and hay-bote at your pleasure, there would be taken house-bote and hay-bote and fuel for two hearths, whereas they were previously appendant to only one hearth: wherefore, estovers for house-bote &c. you can not have; and we paray judgment.

2. (law, history) Estovers.

Usage notes

Now only used in the plural.

Related terms

• estoverium

References

• A Law Dictionary and Glossary: Containing Full Definitions of the Principal Terms of the Common and Civil Law, page 565

Anagrams

• e-voters, overset, revotes, vetoers

Old French

Verb

estover

1. (impersonal) Alternative form of estovoir

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has a stressed present stem estuev distinct from the unstressed stem estov, as well as other irregularities. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

		simple			compound
infinitive		estover			aveir esteü
gerund		en estovant			gerund of aveir + past participle
present participle		estovant
past participle		esteü
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	—	—	estuet	—	—	—
	imperfect	—	—	estoveit	—	—	—
	preterite	—	—	estut	—	—	—
	future	—	—	estovra	—	—	—
	conditional	—	—	estovreit	—	—	—
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of aveir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of aveir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of aveir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of aveir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of aveir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	—	—	estuisse, estuist, estuece	—	—	—
	imperfect	—	—	esteüst	—	—	—
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of aveir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of aveir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	—	—	—	—	—

    Conjugation of estover (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

Noun

estover oblique singular, m (oblique plural estovers, nominative singular estovers, nominative plural estover)

1. Alternative form of estovoir