Tontine

French law. The name of a partnership composed of creditors or, recipients of perpetual or life-rents or annuities, formed on the condition that the rents of those who may die, shall accrue to the survivors, either in whole or in part.

This kind of partnership took its name from Tonti, an Italian, who first conceived the idea and put it in practice.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.