Dictionary.net

A system of agricultural holdings, under which the laud is divided, in small farms, among single families, the landlord generally supplying the stock which the agricultural system of the country is considered to require, and receiving, in lieu of rent and profit, a fixed proportion of the produce. This proportion, which is generally paid in kind, is usually one-half. 1 Mill, Pol. Econ. 290, 303; and 2 Smith, Wealth Nat. 3, c. ii. The system prevails in some parts of France and Italy.