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usucapione

adverse possession

noun oo-zoo-kah-PYOH-neh Rare
People & Society Law

Origin: From Latin usucapio, 'acquisition through use'.

Also means

usucaption

Usage Note

Usucapione is a purely legal term — a feminine noun (la usucapione, often l'usucapione) — referring to the acquisition of ownership of property through long, continuous, and uncontested possession. Italian civil law sets the ordinary period at twenty years. It is one of the few Latin legal terms still used in its original form in Italian jurisprudence, making it accessible to speakers of other Romance languages with legal Latin roots.

Examples

"L'usucapione richiede possesso continuato per vent'anni."

Natural Translation

Adverse possession requires continuous possession for twenty years.

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