Demesne
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Lands of which the lord had the absolute property or ownership, as distinguished from feudal lands which he held of a superior.
2 Sharswood, Bl. Comm. 104; Cowell.
Lands which the lord retained under his immediate control, for the purpose of supplying his table and the immediate needs of his household. Distinguished from that farmed out to tenants, called among the Saxons "bordlands."
Blount; Co. Litt. 17a.
Own; original. Son assault demesne, his (the plaintiff's) original assault, or assault in the first place.
2 Greenl. Ev. § 633; 3 Bl. Comm. 120, 306.