Noun: dead hand ded hand
- The oppressive influence of past events or decisions
"The company struggled to innovate due to the dead hand of the past";
- dead hand of the past, mortmain
- (corporation) real property held inalienably (as by an ecclesiastical corporation)
"The church's property was held in dead hand, preventing its sale";
- mortmain
Derived forms: dead hands
Type of: immovable, influence, real estate, real property, realty
Encyclopedia: Dead hand