Wardship

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Wardship \Ward"ship\, n.
     1. The office of a ward or keeper; care and protection of a
        ward; guardianship; right of guardianship.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Wardship is incident to tenure in socage.


                                                    --Blackstone.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The state of begin under a guardian; pupilage.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              It was the wisest act . . . in my wardship. --B.
                                                    Jonson.
        [1913 Webster]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  52 Moby Thesaurus words for "wardship":
     administration, auspices, care, charge, clientage, clientship,
     cure, custodianship, custody, dependence, dependency, disability,
     disablement, disqualification, governance, government,
     guardianship, guidance, hands, imbecility, inability, inadequacy,
     incapability, incapacitation, incapacity, incompetence,
     incompetency, inefficiency, ineptitude, infancy, inferiority,
     insufficiency, jurisdiction, keeping, legal incapacity, management,
     ministry, minority, oversight, pastorage, pastorate, pastorship,
     patronage, protectorship, safe hands, stewardship, tutelage,
     unfitness, ward, wardenship, watch and ward, wing
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  WARDSHIP, Eng. law. Wardship was the right of the lord over the person and 
  estate of the tenant, when the latter was under a certain age. When a tenant 
  by knight's service died, and his heir was under age, the lord was entitled 
  to the custody of the person and the lands of the heir, without any account, 
  until the ward, if a male, should arrive at the age of twenty-one years, 
  and, if a female, at eighteen. Wardship was also incident to a tenure in 
  socage, but in this case, not the lord, but the nearest relation to whom the 
  inheritance could not descend, was entitled to the custody of the person and 
  estate of the heir till he attained the age of fourteen years; at which 
  period the wardship ceased and the guardian was bound, to account. Wardship 
  in copyhold estates partook of that in chivalry and that guardian like the 
  latter, he was required lib. 7, c. 9; Grand Cout. c. 33; Reg. Maj. c. 42.