Definition
A close or enclosure; a croft. In old English records, "tigh" denoted a small enclosed piece of land, typically attached to a dwelling or farm. The term belongs to the vocabulary of early land tenure and conveyancing, appearing in manorial records and historical property instruments rather than in modern legal usage. It is functionally synonymous with "close" in its sense of an enclosed parcel of land.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): Not in current general use; regarded as an archaic or obsolete term.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): "A close, or inclosure; a croft. [Obs.] Cowell."
The common and legal meanings are essentially identical — both refer to an enclosed piece of land. The term was already marked obsolete by the nineteenth century, meaning researchers are unlikely to encounter it outside of old records and the legal dictionaries that preserved it from those records.
Why It Matters in Research
Tigh is a term of purely historical significance. Researchers working with English manorial records, early land grants, estate surveys, or pre-modern conveyancing instruments may encounter it as a descriptor for small enclosed parcels. Its significance lies in identification: misreading or overlooking "tigh" in an old document could cause a researcher to mischaracterize the nature or boundaries of a described parcel.
Key navigational points:
— The term appears in records produced before systematic land registration, where informal and regional vocabulary was common. Its presence signals a document of considerable age.
— Both editions of Black's cite Cowell's Interpreter (John Cowell, 1607) as the authority, indicating that "tigh" was already being retrieved from historical usage even in early legal lexicography. Researchers tracing the term should consult Cowell directly for its original gloss.
— "Tigh" overlaps in meaning with "close" and "croft," two terms that also appear frequently in old records and each carry their own distinct legal histories. Understanding the overlap is essential to accurately reading property descriptions in historical instruments.
— No modern statutory or common law usage is associated with this term. It does not appear in contemporary property law doctrine and should be treated solely as a historical identifier.
Historical Dictionary Support
Both editions of Black's Law Dictionary reproduce the entry in nearly identical language, each tracing the term to Cowell. This consistency across editions reflects the fact that "tigh" generated no legal development beyond its archaic descriptive function — it was preserved in legal dictionaries as a reading aid for old records, not as a term with active doctrinal content. Webster's 1913 confirms the obsolescence of the term in general usage, corroborating that by the nineteenth century it survived only in historical legal contexts. No divergence exists between the dictionary sources; all agree on meaning, scope, and origin.