1. a woman who holds a jointure; a widow entitled to a life estate from her deceased husband’s property
Usage: legal; archaic

Examples

• The jointress received income from the estate for the remainder of her life.
• As a jointress, she had legal rights to certain properties after her husband’s death.
• The will specified that his widow would become a jointress with access to the manor house.
• Medieval law often protected the jointress from being left destitute.
• The jointress maintained her social position through her legal entitlements.