frank4t

A former spelling of franc. franks (frangk), n. [Said to be imitative.] A name of the heron, Ardea cinerea. [Local, Great Britain.] frankalmoin, frankalmoigne (frangk'almoin), п. [OF. franc almoigne, etc.: see frank2 and almoin.] Free almoin; in Eng. law, a tenure of land free from all temporal service; a tenure by which a religious corporation might hold lands to them and their succe ors for ever, on condition of praying for the soul of the donor. This is the tenure by which almost all the old monasteries and religious houses held their lands, and by which the parochial clergy and very many ecclesiastical and eleemosynary foundations hold them to this day, the nature of the service being in the Reformation altered and made conformable to the usage of the Church of England. The lands of ecclesiastical corporations are to this day said to be held by the tenure of frank almoigne or free alms, though the explanation which originally supported the fiction of a tenure has disappeared since the Reform a F. Pollock , Land Laws, p. 34. tion. The e ence of the donation in Frankalmoigne was that it was a gift to God in free and perpetual alms, and therefore it could never be held or enjoyed by any but a "religious corporation." In other words, no gift in Frank almoigne could be bestowed upon a parish or a layman. N. and Q., 6th ser., XII. 519. frank-bank (frangk'bangk), n. Same as free bench. frank-chase (frangk'chās), n. In Eng. law, a right of liberty of free chase, whereby persons having lands within its limits are prohibited from cutting down any wood, etc., even in their own demesnes, to the prejudice of the right. Also called free - chase. The forest is the most noble of all, for it is a franchise of so princely a tenure that, according to our laws, none but the King can have a forest; if he chance to pa one over to a subject, it is no more forest, but franck -chace. Howell , Letters, iv. 16. Frankenia (frang-ke'ni-ä), n. [After Johann Franke (John Frankenius ) (1590-1661), profe or of medicine at Upsala.] A genus of low and heath-like perennial herbs or undershrubs, also establishment of penny postage. The practically unlim constituting the natural order Frankeniaceæ, ited franking privilege formerly enjoyed by members of the United States Congre and many officers of government was abolished in 1873; but provision was afterward made for the free transmi ion of mail-matter relating to official busine , by the use of special envelops, etc. The representatives of the people. begin to make distinctions, by making exceptions of themselves in the laws. They may frank letters; they are exempted from arrests, etc. J. Adams , On Government. Hence-2. To facilitate the pa age or movements of; give the right of way to, as a traveler. [Rare.] English itself, which will now frank the traveller through the most of North America, through the greater South Sea Islands, in India, along much of the coast of Africa, and in the ports of China and Japan. R. L. Stevens on, The Foreigner at Home. and nearly allied to the Caryophyllaceæ. There are about 30 species, widely distributed, but mostly found near the sea or in saline localities. The sea-heath, F. læris, is common in Europe, and 3 species are found in western North America.