muniment

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a legal deed, charter, or other document preserved as evidence of a right or title

   The archivist found the estate’s oldest muniment in a locked chest.

2. 2
   noun

   a means of defense or protection, especially in historical use

   The thick wall served as a muniment against attack.

From Anglo-Norman and Middle French muniment, from Latin mūnīmentum, ‘fortification’ or ‘defense,’ derived from mūnīre, ‘to fortify.’ The idea of something that protects a right led to the legal sense of a document proving title or privilege.

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