Daily AncestorMessuage
A messuage is an old legal word for a dwelling house together with its outbuildings and the land around it.
Messuage appears in deeds and wills, often in phrases like all that messuage or tenement and tract of land. It means the house plus the buildings and ground that go with it.
Originally it meant the plot set aside for a dwelling. Seeing messuage in a deed usually tells you there was a house on the property, which helps when tracing where a family actually lived.
As seen in a recordDeed recorded in a county deed book, 1800s
All that messuage, tenement and plantation situate in Chester County containing 120 acres.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Messuage." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/messuage. Last checked 2026-10-01.