A chief or principal rent paid for land, especially the rent owed by a head tenant to a landlord.
From 'head' (chief, principal) and 'rent' (payment for use of property, from Old French 'rente'). This feudal and early modern English term reflects property hierarchies.
In medieval England, headrent was the top tier of a chain—a peasant paid rent to a head tenant, who paid headrent to a noble, who might pay to the king, creating an economic pyramid.
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