Land Surveying Legal Terms

Senior Monument

A monument, when compared with several valid monuments, that controls in the event of a conflict.

Seep

A small spring.

Brook

A small stream, normally intermittent.

Paddle Board

A small white sign placed along State routes which gives the legislative route number and the stationing along the highway.

Dependent Resurvey

A survey for the purpose of retracing a boundary created at some earlier time.

Meander Line

A survey line or traverse line proceeding along a body of water.

Draft

A survey map.

Warrant Survey

A survey performed for the purpose of defining and locating the quantity of land stated in the warrant.

Viewer

A person appointed by the court to examine and gather evidence for the need, revision, location, or vacation of a road.

Squatter

A person who sets up or appears to set up a permanent trespass on another party's title.

Subject to

A phrase connoting a prior right or grant. The phrase is normally used to precede a notice or acknowledgement of a prior grant.

More or Less

A phrase denoting caution or inexactness. It does not, as is sometimes assumed, imply fraud, deceit, or an indemnification agreement on the grantor's behalf.

Call

A phrase in a deed description containing one or more of the following; monument, adjoiner, bearing, distance, and passing monuments. It is the information used to describe one line in a description.

Together With

A phrase introducing an appurtenant right or claim attached to the parcel or estate conveyed.

Monument

A physical object or intangible boundary that perpetuates the position of title.

Post

A piece of timber placed in the ground such that the longitudinal dimension protrudes from the ground surface.

Return of the Survey (Return)

A plat of an official survey that has been returned and accepted by the Land Office.

Spring

A point where water flows from the surface.

Prescription

A process whereby a right or easement is acquired by adverse use, encumbering some other title.

Covenant

A promise respecting the use of land. In some cases a covenant may be construed to have created an easement.

Easement

A right to use another property in a specified manner and/or for a specified purpose. It is a right by which a party can use the property of another for a purpose not inconsistent with the remaining rights of the servient estate.

Street

A road or, more specifically, a road in a developed area.

Warrant

A sales agreement from the Commonwealth to individuals, their assigns, or heirs to purchase or claim a vacant tract of land.

Metes and Bounds

A series of calls encompassing a parcel of land.

Procedure

A series of tasks performed in compliance with some minimum acceptable criteria.

Creek

A shallow stream that normally flows the year round.

Flat

A shallow, low area, subject to frequent flooding.

Land Jobber

A slang term applied to a person who obtained a warrant from the Land Office.

Ground Distance

A slope distance measured with the tape placed on or parallel with the ground.

Glut

A small channel, cut, or feeder stream.

Land Surveyor

A Professional Land Surveyor, a person licensed by the State to perform land surveys.

Corner

A bend or change in the direction of a boundary.

Code of Ethics

A body of (usually) nonbinding principles that sets a standard for professional practice. A code of ethics embodies the conscience of the profession. A Code of Ethics is included in the Registration Act.

Consentable Boundary

A boundary established by agreement and acquiescence.

Ancient Document

A document that is more than 30 years old, has an official appearance, and is found in the proper custody.

License

A documented privilege granted to perform some act or acts not normally legal without the document, but less than an easement.

Connected Draft

A draft where survey returns have been connected (drawn together) with adjoining surveys.

Negligence

A failure to exercise a reasonable standard of professionalism and care expected from the profession as a whole.

Hiatus

A gore.

Tier

A group of lots or parcels that form a row.

Common Report

Common knowledge or knowledge generally known.

Navigable waters

Public highways. Waters which by law or in fact are capable of supporting transportation.

Donation Lands

Lands set aside for officers and enlisted troops as bounty for their loyal and continued service.

Depreciation Lands

Lands set aside for soldiers to offset the depreciation in their military pay.

Seated Lands

Lands under settlement and improvement.

Coal Crop

An exposed coal seam which is or was actively quarried to obtain coal for sale or home consumption.

Mark

An impression, imprint, scribe, or other identifying indent on a monument. Also, the term is frequently interchanged for monument.

Assistant Deputy Surveyor

An individual appointed by a deputy surveyor to help in surveys; now referred to as party chief.

Reversion

An interest in property that returns to the grantor upon some condition or violation of condition by the grantee.

Mesne Conveyance

An intermediate conveyance or document of conveyance executed between the original and present title.

Officer Surveys

Block surveys for military officers. A land bonus for commissioned service in the armed forces of the Commonwealth.

Indirect Measurements

Boundary dimensions obtained by calculation.

Direct Measurements

Boundary dimensions obtained by surveying on the boundary or line of interest.

Clouded Title

Encumbered title or title that is no longer sound. The term refers to title that is no longer clear and free of third-party demands.

Nominal Length

The length documented, stamped, or marked.

Bank of a Stream

The line along a stream where all perennial vegetation ceases.

Thread of a Stream

The line equidistant from the water's edge when the water is at its lowest natural level (not necessarily its lowest level ever recorded).

High-Water Line (boundary)

The line of normal high water, generally where the vegetation ceases to grow.

Line of Record

The location of the boundary as described in the records.

Line of Title

The location of the title boundary.

Clear Title

Title unencumbered by any liens or other encumbrances.

Tally

To keep count of the chain lengths. It generally implies a running count of the chain lengths extending between two points.

Mete

To measure.

Avulsion

The separation of land by the sudden shift or dislocation in a stream channel.

Strict

With care and precision.

Perpendicular To

A direction 90 or 270 degrees from a base direction.

Notch

A 'V' cut into wood.

Gunter's Chain

A chain four rods (66 feet) long.

Engineer's Chain

A chain with an overall dimension of 100 feet as opposed to 66 feet.

Coal Hearth

A charcoal pit normally used to make charcoal for smelting iron ore.

Isogonic Chart

A chart depicting isogonic lines.

Chain of Title

A chronological list of records which comprise the historical sequence of title to the property.

Blaze

A circular cut into and out of the cambium layer of a tree.

Traverse

A direction and series of angles and distances combined into a geometrically dependent shape.

Easterly

A direction toward but not necessarily on line with east.

Found Corner (Monument)

A corner where all or part of a valid monument is recovered on a retracement survey.

Probate Court

A court with the power to probate wills and administer estates.

Run

A creek or small stream, normally flowing all year.

Southerly

A direction toward but not necessarily on line with south.

Westerly

A direction toward but not necessarily on line with west.

Indenture Deed

A deed generally signed by both parties (grantee and grantor), having the date at the beginning, and using third-party pronouns.

Quitclaim Deed

A deed guaranteeing nothing. It is a release document without guarantees.

General Warranty Deed

A deed warranting the title against any and all claims, except those expressly denied in the document.

Deed Poll

A deed which does not have a warranty and recital, begins with a salutation, ends with the date, and is written using first-party pronouns.

Retracement Survey

A dependent resurvey. A retracement is a type of survey where the boundaries have been previously fixed and their location is being reestablished.

Line Fence

A fence that resides on the boundary.

Survey

A generic term for the measurement or determination of some characteristic of the earth. It is generally used with a descriptor, such as "land", "boundary", "retracement", "engineering", etc. It also refers to the documents prepared by the surveyor.

Opinion

A judgment, appraisal, belief, conviction, or sentiment.

Passing Monument

A monument (object/feature) that lies astride or along a boundary. Also known as a directory monument.

Principle

A legal fact, criteria, or rule.

Boundary

A legal line of demarcation.

Agreement, Boundary Line

A line established by mutual consent for the convenience of adjoining landowners.

Meridian

A line formed by passing a plane through the observer's position, center of the earth, and the (true, magnetic, etc.) poles of the earth.

Stream

A linear body of water with a discernible path of flow.

Chain

A linear unit of measurement. One chain (Gunter's) is normally equal to 66ft. One square chain is 0.1 acre. It is also a tool composed of 100 links, each 7.92 inches in length, used for measuring distances.

Rod

A linear unit of measurement. One rod is equal to one perch or 16.5ft.

Planted Stone

A long, narrow stone placed in the ground such that the long dimension protrudes (unnaturally) from the ground surface.

Plat

A map, draught, drawing, or plot of land.

Blunder

A mistake of irreconcilable proportion.

Hack

A notch or 'V' cut into the cambium (bark) layer of a tree.

Highway

A public road normally associated with travel and not merely access to property.

Accidental Errors

A random or non-systematic error.

Witness Monument

A reference monument. It is a monument used to identify, verify, or point to a corner or corner monument. It is also known as a pointer.

Natural Monument

A relatively permanent monument normally created by nature.

Patent

A release from the Commonwealth to any rights or interests the State theretofore had retained in the land. The final step in the transfer of ownership from the Commonwealth.

Right-of-Way

A right or easement associated with a road or access. In some cases, the phrase is used to signify the legal extent of the road.

Strawman

A stand-in, commonly used in reference to a person who draws a warrant for a third party.

Statute of Limitations

A statute fixing a time limit on starting any specified legal action.

Statute of Frauds

A statute requiring all conveyances of land or interests in land to be transferred in writing.

Cairn

A stone pile built, normally with great care, specifically as a landmark or monument.

Navigable by Law

A stream declared navigable by an act of the legislature.

Navigable in Fact

A stream which can support navigation in its natural condition.

Boundary Survey

A survey for the purpose identifying, verifying, and resolving the location of a boundary.

Title Search

A systematic search of the documents on public record which affect the title to a parcel.

Artificial Monument

A tangible object built or erected by man to control or identify the position or terminus of a boundary.

Exception

A term implying a removal from the transfer equal in status to that being transferred.

Reservation

A term implying a withholding of a right or interest of less status than that title or interest being transferred.

Parcel

A tract or lot of land.

Line Tree

A tree existing on the boundary.

Perch

A unit of measure. As a linear dimension, one perch is equal to one rod or 16.5 feet. As an area unit of measure, one perch is equal to 272.25 square feet or 1/160 of an acre.

Pole

A unit of measurement that equals 16.5 feet, one rod, or one perch.

Existing Monument

A valid monument existing at the time of the retracement survey.

Junior Monument

A valid monument which must give way to the superiority of one or more other monuments.

Breach

A violation or failure to perform a promise, contract, etc.

Party Wall

A wall used by two dwelling units for support, concealment, and privacy.

Caveat

A warning. In the transfer of public lands, a caveat signified a title overlap or conflict.

Special Warrant

A warrant calling for a specific location.

Descriptive Warrant

A warrant containing sufficient information to locate it at some unique location.

Warrant of Acceptance

A warrant issued for an area that has been previously surveyed or located but not legally appropriated from the Commonwealth.

Vacating Warrant

A warrant issued for lands previously claimed and later abandoned.

Special Warranty Deed

A warranty deed in which the grantor only warrants the title against his or her acts only.

Alley

A way of limited access normally much more confined in width than a road.

Block (Tree)

A wedge or pie shaped piece of wood removed from a tree for the purpose of viewing and ascertaining the age of prior scribings, blazes, notches, or marks.

Pointer

A witness monument.

Deed

A written document which is used to transfer title or an interest in real property.

Compensating Errors

Accidental Errors

Accretion

Act of depositing silt or soil. It is the imperceptible extension of land where water formerly stood.

Reverse Prescription

Action of prescription which removes an easement as opposed to creating an easement.

Contemporaneous Acts

Acts performed during the fact in question.

Contiguous

Actual contact or touching.

Express

Actual or overt.

Abutter

Adjoining property or landowner.

Office Survey

Also known as a chamber survey. A plat depicting a survey that was never actually performed by going upon the ground and obtaining measurements. The term is usually used to connote a fraudulent survey.

Condemnation

An act to appropriate property under eminent domain.

Quiet Title

An action to clear title. Quiet title is an action used to remove encumbrances upon the title.

General Warrant

An agreement from the Commonwealth of PA to sell a certain quantity of vacant land wherever it may be found in the specified purchase area. It is also an order or directive for a survey. A general warrant is also known as a survey warrant.

Patent Ambiguity

An ambiguity that is or should be obvious without application or further research.

Land Lawyer

An ancient term applied to a member of the bar who specialized in land laws.

Board of Property (Land Records Division)

An arbitration board created by statute to hear complaints or facts concerning the transfer of vacant land and caveats concerning title of the Commonwealth

Overlap

An area encompassed by two or more records.

Gap/Gore

An area of measurable title left out of title transfers. It is also known as an area of confused ownership.

Warranty

An assurance.

Lien

An encumbrance binding real property for the payment of money.

Estoppel

An equitable doctrine by the successful invocation of which a person is prevented from pursuing his rights normally protected under the law.

Chamber Survey

An office survey. It refers to a plat depicting a survey that was never actually performed by going upon the ground and obtaining measurements. The term connotes a fraudulent survey.

Road

An open way located upon the ground used for travel.

Latent Ambiguity

An uncertainty that is not readily apparent and is discovered only after application, computations, or further research.

Ambiguity

An uncertainty.

Malpractice

An unreasonable shoddiness, lack of skill, or professional competence.

ET VIR.

And husband (abbreviation for et viroris)

ET AL.

And others (abbreviation for et alias)

ET UX.

And wife (abbreviation for et uxoris)

Stake

Any long narrow object, rectangular or round, forced in the ground by successive blows. Without words to the contrary, a stake is assumed to be made of wood.

Rood

Area unit of measure. There are four roods per acre of land and each rood is comprised of 40 square rods or perches.

Settlement and Improvement

Areas of habitation and support.

Link

As a unit of measurement, one link is equal to 0.66ft or 7.92in. It is also a part of a chain. A chain is comprised of 100 links.

Prima Facie

At face value. Frequently the term is applied to evidence that is assumed correct and true unless better evidence proves differently.

Appurtenant

Attached or belonging to.

Administrative Codes

Codifications of regulations promulgated by administrative departments of the Commonwealth.

Locative Calls (Monuments)

Calls that fix the position of the boundary or corner to some tangible or record monument.

Directory Calls

Calls that point or lead the way to locative calls.

Long Chains

Chains stretched so that they lay off a length longer than their nominal length.

Along

Depends on the circumstances; may mean 'on', or 'next to', or 'running with', etc.

Alluvium

Deposits from running water.

Surface Distance

Distance measured with the tape placed or held on the ground or land surface as opposed to a horizontal distance.

Systematic Error

Error that follows some physical law or mathematical model and is thus recurring. Ex: Errors of measurement that result from using a chain or tape that is too long or too short.

Extrinsic/Extraneous Evidence

Evidence garnered outside of the document.

Surveyor's Chain

Generally a chain with an overall length of four rods (66ft), but may refer to a chain two rods in length.

Adsectum Index

Grantee Index.

Direct Index

Grantor Index

Riparian

Having to do with water, along water, or associated with water.

Inference

Judgment considered to be true. It is a legal presumption.

Fast/Firm Land

Land above the high-water line.

Vacant Land

Land as yet unclaimed and unsettled or land that has no office rights outstanding.

Alluvion

Land formed by the gradual and imperceptible accumulation of accretions.

Flat Land

Land found along bodies of water that is subject to flooding.

Unimproved Land

Land showing no sign of occupancy or cultivation.

Unseated Land

Land under warrant and/or survey but not improved.

Common Law

Law derived from court decisions

Statute Law

Laws enacted by the State legislature.

Caveat Emptor

Let the buyer beware. Caveat emptor implies that the buyer assumes all risk and the grantor or seller none.

Encumbrances

Liens, taxes, or outside, derogatory interests on the title to land.

Division Fence

Line Fence

Isoporic Lines

Lines of constant change in declination.

Isogonic Lines

Lines of constant declination.

Purports

Lots or parcels created by subdivision.

Due

Many times meant to mean a true direction. However, in some instances the term was used to indicate a measured course rather than a general direction.

Ethics

Moral Principles or values.

Block (Surveys)

Multiple surveys performed during the same time period, usually in a rectangular grid pattern.

Quasi

Near or approximate.

Adjoiner

Neighboring property. Used to refer to the owner or the property abutting the one of interest (client's property).

Neat

Net

Pine Knot

Normally a jointed section of a hemlock or other evergreen that, because of the concentration pitch, does not rapidly decay.

Stare Decisis

Not to unsettle that which is settled.

Constructive Notice

Notice the law assumes by the proximity or location of the record. It is the legal presumption that the record has (or should have) been read and understood.

Docket

Official List. Typically a list of roads (Road Docket)

Moiety

One of two equal parts; a half.

Hearsay

Parol evidence not coming from personal knowledge.

Res Gestae

Part of the act; thing that happened.

Adverse Possession

Possession of land in which the possessor has no valid record title. It is a physical claim on property adverse to the rightful owner's interests.

Comity

Reciprocity, or comity, is to allow licensure based upon a license from another jurisdiction.

Meadow Land

See 'Fast Land'

Shore

See Beach.

Paper Title

See Color of Title

Draught

See Draft

Survey Warrant

See General Warrant

Record Line

See Line of Record

Title Line

See Line of Title.

Leading Warrant

Senior warrant in a survey block.

Bounds

Short for boundary.

Heaps

Stone Piles.

Protraction

Subdivision by graphic methods.

Abstract

Summary of information.

Deputy Survey

Surveyors appointed by the proprietor (Penn and his heirs) and later the Surveyor General to perform official surveys within selected districts.

Cumulative Errors

Systematic Errors

Acquiescence

Tacit consent or consent by non action.

Channel

That area of a stream where the water flows.

Orphans' Court

That division of the Court of Common Pleas charged with the probate of wills and administration of decedent's estates.

Pool Full

That elevation of a lake, reservoir, or similar body of water which is memorialized by the crest of the dam.

Fee-Simple Title (Fee or Fee-Title)

That estate in fee, the continuation of which is not limited by conditions or limitations. (highest possible ownership)

Remainder

That estate in land which becomes possessory after one or more life estates have ended. It is the remaining property left to the grantor after subdivision and/or transfer.

Body

That part of the description that describes the boundaries to the parcel.

Caption

That part of the description that provides the location of the property.

Beaten Path Doctrine

The 'beaten path doctrine' implies that the location and extent of the road is determined from the physical location and extent of the traveled way or 'beaten path.'

Accuracy

The ability to achieve the correct value or result. Accuracy is the nearness to the true value or position.

Precision

The ability to repeat measurements and obtain the same or similar values. It is defined as the closeness or grouping.

Chaining

The act of measuring distances by use of a chain or tape of known length.

Declination (Magnetic)

The angle measured from true north to the magnetic meridian. This value varies over time and differs from place to place.

Cartway

The roadway or traveled way. The cartway is that part of the surface physically scarred or prepared for vehicular use.

Livery of Seisin

The archaic ceremony by which the seller transfers the title by passing some token of the property to the buyer, common before written documents were required.

Beach

The area between the high and low water lines, also known as the shore.

Course

The bearing and distance on a line and the objects mentioned along and at the end of a line. In a more limited definition, the course is equivalent to the direction.

Beaten Path

The beaten path is the path of use. It is the area on the ground scarred by the marks of travel or the area prepared for vehicles to travel upon. It is also known as the cartway of the road.

Traveled Way

The roadway. The traveled way is that portion of the road used for travel.

Senior Corner

The corner first established and recognized in a conveyance. It is the corner all junior corners must conform with in the event of a conflict.

Defendant

The defending party in a legal suit. The defendant is the one setting up a defense in a court of law.

Abandonment

The desertion of one or all claims. Abandonment as it concerns roads, implies surrendering one particular party's rights without surrendering the rights of all parties. Ex: abandonment of a road by the state forfeits the state's interest in the road but not the local government's.

Width

The dimension that is perpendicular to the direction of travel and extending between the edges of the right-of-way.

Apportionment

The division of rights or interests between several parties or persons that are entitled to them.

Practical Location

The feasible location of the record boundary.

Original Monument

The first valid monument set to mark a corner.

Proprietary

The governing party or person. The term frequently refers to William Penn and his heirs. In some instances the term refers to the Commonwealth.

Presumption

The legal inference. It is the line of thought or action that, without evidence to the contrary, must be followed.

Constructive Possession

The legal possession of land. It is possession, without proof to the contrary, that the law assumes to be by virtue of valid title.

Reliction

The increase in fast land by the permanent removal or regression of the water or water boundary.

Concave

The inside of a curve, side toward the center point.

Thalwag

The lowest part of a stream.

Line of Possession

The physical line where barriers stand or the boundary where occupation or use by another starts or ends.

Thread of a Road

The middle of the cartway (single lane) or the line equidistant from the road's edge (multiple- or wide-lane roads).

Spindle

The pin upon which the compass needle balances.

Land Office

The office set up under William Penn and, in later years, the Commonwealth, to handle land transactions involving vacant land in the State.

Plaintiff

The one charging or bringing legal suit, the party initiating the action.

Convex

The outside of a curve.

Premises

The part of the deed which sets forth the matters of fact necessary to identify the parties, transaction, and property.

Land Surveying

The particular aspect of surveying that deals with boundaries and their retracement.

Warrantee

The party or person named in a land warrant.

Grantor

The person or party conveying by deed the title or interest in title.

Grantee

The person or party receiving the title or interest in title by deed.

Point of Commencement

The point or corner, other than a parcel or easement corner (as the case may be), where a description begins. The point of commencement is usually a point or corner that is well-known or easily located, from which directions and distances are provided to locate the point of beginning.

Roadway

The portion of the road that is improved for travel. It is the area of asphalt or tar, the portion used for travel, or the traveled way.

Eminent Domain

The power of a public agency to compel the transfer of property or property rights for the benefit of the public.

Litigation

The process commenced by filing a lawsuit. Legal contest or challenge.

Measurement

The process of obtaining a dimension. The term also refers to a quantity.

Blocking

The process of removing a block from a tree.

Proration

The process whereby the excess or deficiency in area or linear measurements is distributed.

Dominant Estate

The property or person who benefits from the easement; the estate that derives the benefit from the existence of the easement.

Servient Estate

The property the easement traverses.

Senior Right

The right to first claim based upon having senior title.

Squatter's Right

The right to first claim on title. In historical times, it was a preemptive right to obtain title.

Error of Closure (linear)

The square root of the sum of the square of the difference in x (easting) and y (northing) coordinates (ex. The distance from the end point of a traverse to the true location of that point)

Point of Beginning (P.O.B.)

The starting point in a title description which is a corner of the parcel or title being described.

Color of Title

The term is applied to title that does not have substance. It refers to title that appears to be good but, in actuality, conveys no estate, or interest in the property.

Lost Grant Theory

The theory founded upon the belief that any apparent adverse use, long continued, must in fact have been initiated upon an ancient grant that has since been lost. In some locations this is an assumption of the law based upon a statutory time period and other parameters normally associated with prescription or adverse use.

Preponderance of Evidence

The weight and majority of evidence.

Senior Title

The title first transferred. Senior title is the first parcel taken from a whole. Between two parcels, the title first removed from the whole and conveyed by the common grantor is the senior title.

Habendum

The traditional clause in a deed which normally defines the tenancy by which the grantees hold the estate conveyed.

Shoulder

The transition area from the roadway to a ditch or berm. It is the portion of the road used for parking, emergency use, and for lateral support and protection of the base.

Estate

The whole of the property owned by anyone. A fee, right, or interest in property.

Secular Variation

The yearly variation of the magnetic meridian.

Hereditament

Things capable of being inherited.

Heirs

Those receiving or by law endowed with property at the death of the lawful owner in absence of a probated will.

Property Rights

Those rights normally associated with the bundle of rights arising from the ownership of property.

Professional Land Surveyor

Those surveyors licensed by the state registration board in the discipline of surveying.

Engineering Surveys

Those surveys performed for the purpose of construction, design, or determining quantity, and not for the purpose of locating boundaries.

Geodetic Surveys

Those surveys that take into account the size, shape, and physical parameters of the earth.

Junior Right

Title that is servient to other title. It is a right that is valid against all except those holding better.

Office Rights

Title to land exclusive of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Office rights are held by those citizens who have a warrant and/or a survey outstanding and the sole right to patent the land.

Implied

To assume or understand by implication.

Parallel With

To be equidistant at all points from a reference line.

Vacate

To cancel or surrender any interest. Vacate, as applied to a road or street, implies surrendering any public rights or interest in the road. In other words, only private interests will remain.

Plot

To draw a map. A plot also can be defined as a map or drawing.

Prolong

To extend a line on the same course.

Liable

To hold accountable; a legal responsibility to perform or meet a standard.

Indemnificate

To hold harmless

Estop

To prevent.

Ad Filum Aquae

To the thread, middle, or center of the waters.

Actual Notice

To view or read a document or record, in a real sense of the word.

Relief

Topography. It is the rise or drop of landforms.

Actual Possession

Touching, contact, physical possession, or occupancy.

Privity

Touching. It is a mutual or successive relationship.

Northerly

Toward but not necessarily on line with north.

Trespass

Trample on rights. A trespass is to take liberties with other property without permission.

Encroachment

Trespass or uninvited entry.

Unappropriated Land

Unpatented land

Parol Evidence

Verbal testimony or oral evidence.

Scrivener

Writer. Specifically, a scrivener is a writer who prepares descriptions and legal documents.

Muniment

Written evidence of title, a document.