muniment

[ myoo-nuh-muhnt ]

noun

1. muniments, Law. a document, as a title deed or a charter, by which rights or privileges are defended or maintained.
2. Archaic. a defense or protection.

muniment

/ ˈmjuːnɪmənt /

noun

1. rare.
   a means of defence

Word History and Origins

Origin of muniment¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin mūnīmentum document (e.g., title, deed) for use in defense against a claimant, Latin: defense, protection, originally, fortification, equivalent to mūnī ( re ) to fortify + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of muniment¹

C15: via Old French, from Latin munīre to defend

Example Sentences

“To be let loose in the wardrobe rooms, the gold vaults, the muniment room and the closets, cupboards and attics of Chatsworth — a place I came to as a little boy with a ticket in my hand and wonder in my eyes — has been a truly joyous experience,” Mr. Bowles said recently in a telephone call from the stately home.

From New York Times

In Bath, De Quincey was deeply affected by the unusual story of Thomas Chatterton, a teen-age poet from nearby Bristol who had found dusty medieval documents in the muniment room of his parish church and, his imagination ignited, invented the figure of Thomas Rowley, a fifteenth-century blind monk and poet.

From The New Yorker

And by and by, had a key made and strayed into the Muniment Room!

From Project Gutenberg

The Muniment Room is over this lobby on the first floor.

From Project Gutenberg

He had examined the muniment room and found part of the wall broken down, and in the room two boxes of papers which had been taken from a recess which the breach had disclosed.

From Project Gutenberg