1. joint inheritance of an estate by two or more heirs
Usage: legal; archaic

Examples

• The estate was held in parcenary by the three sisters.
• Under the old law, parcenary allowed multiple heirs to share ownership.
• The legal concept of parcenary has largely been replaced by modern inheritance laws.
• Disputes often arose when property was held in parcenary.
• The court had to determine the rights of each party in the parcenary.