Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Private property; a private purse; specifically, in Roman law, that which was given by a father or master to his son, daughter, or slave, as his or her private property
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Rom. Law) The saving of a son or a slave with the father's or master's consent; a little property or stock of one's own; any exclusive personal or separate property.
- noun A special fund for private and personal uses.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun law, historical The
savings of ason or aslave , with thefather 's ormaster 'sconsent ; a littleproperty orstock of one's own. - noun A special
fund for private and personal uses.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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10 The action claiming an account of a peculium is a remedy introduced by the praetor against a master or a father.
The Institutes of Justinian John Baron Moyle 1891
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The "peculium" was the sum of money which a son in his minority was allowed by his father to be in possession of.
The Captiva and the Mostellaria Titus Maccius Plautus 1847
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The civil code of Louisiana declares: "_All that a slave possesses belongs to his master_ -- he possesses nothing of his own, except his peculium, that is to say, the sum of money or moveable estate, which
An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans Lydia Maria Francis Child 1841
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As the slave could generally ransom himself out of his "peculium," or "savings," if they were sufficient, the slave here either thinks, or pretends to think, that Hegio is censuring him for not taking those means, and answer, accordingly, that he has nothing to offer] [Footnote 3: _Give myself to flight_) -- Ver.
The Captiva and the Mostellaria Titus Maccius Plautus 1847
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In Roman law slaves, who were owned as property, could also own property of their own, and all slaves in later times had a peculium, a minimum property attached to them.
When A Map Is Worth a Thousand Words « Antiwar.com Blog 2008
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American slavery, however, was peculiar exactly in not recognizing the peculium, for example, and accordingly the slave had no rights at all in law, because not a legal “person”.
When A Map Is Worth a Thousand Words « Antiwar.com Blog 2008
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The framework of the human intellect is not the peculium of an individual, but the joint work of many who are of all ages and countries.
Theaetetus 2007
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The golden chain reaches from squire to Boniface, and still lower in the social scale, wherever some snug little peculium is found to nestle.
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That foremost one of Dasarha's race also gave unto Subhadra as her peculium ten carrier-loads of first class gold possessing the splendour of fire, some purified and some in a state of ore.
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 Books 1, 2 and 3 Kisari Mohan [Translator] Ganguli
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That foremost one of Dasarha's race also gave unto Subhadra as her peculium ten carrier-loads of first class gold possessing the splendour of fire, some purified and some in a state of ore.
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose Adi Parva Kisari Mohan [Translator] Ganguli
she commented on the word peculium
n.¹, A private possession; that which a particular individual owns or has been allocated; the particular concern of an individual (plural peculia).
n.², (in Roman law:) The property allowed by the paterfamilias to a family member, or a master to his slave, to hold and administer, and, within limits, to alienate, as though it were his or her own.
September 1, 2008
qms commented on the word peculium
When Lexicographers Go Bad
His offer she called "An amusing sum!"
Her exit conveyed her opprobrium.
To the lobby she flounced
And loudly announced,
"He's sure got a puny peculium!"
June 9, 2015