Real Estate Glossary

Our glossary is the largest dictionary of real estate and construction terms on the Internet with almost 10,000 definitions.

Aaron's rod

Molding which is used as a building ornament. It is either straight or rounded molding with a scroll or leave design in the form of a serpent coiled around a rod.

A la Carte real estate service

Transactions rendered one at a time instead of a commission-based, full service relationship.

A-frame Design

A style of house incorporating a high, peaked roof. It has an open and airy interior, featuring open ceiling rafters.

Abaciscus

Plate at the top of a column; small, thick, square or rectangle.

Abacus

Thick square or rectangular plate of any size forming the top of a column.

Abandon

Leaving something in a place, without the intention of returning.

Abandonment

The voluntary surrendering of property rights but not transferring title to someone else.

Abate

To eliminate, lessen or reduce. To hammer metal. To end or suppress. Remove or shape material to form a relief design.

Abatement

The elimination or reduction of a condition. Diminishing in strength. Decreasing of strength of a timber as it is shaped to the proper size for use. Wastage of wood when lumber is planed to size. Shaping of metal by hammering.

Abatjour

Movable screen. Movable slat. Skylight or different means of admitting light into a building and deflecting the light downward.

Abeyance

Lapse in succession during which title to a piece of property is not clearly established.

Ablate

Removal of material by melting and/or burning away.

Ablative Surface

Surface designed to melt or burn away at a controlled rate.

Abney Level

Hand-held level used in surveying to determine elevations and slope angles.

Abode

Home, residence.

Abrade

To wear away or erode such as with sandpaper or emery board.

Abrasion

Wearing away.

Abrasion Soldering

An intentional mechanical abrasion of the base metal during soldering.

Abrasive

Material used for grinding, sanding, polishing or the wearing away of another material. Aluminum oxide, garnet and silicon-based compounds are commonly used as abrasives for sanding and smoothing wood.

Abrasive Flapper

Strips of material impregnated with an abrasive that are attached to a hub with a shank. When the shank is inserted into the chuck of a power drill, the spinning strips can be used to sand irregular surfaces.

Abrasive Stones

Grinding stones used to sharpen metal blades. The blades are either rubbed along the stone or the stone is spun and the metal held against it, wearing down the metal and creating a sharp edge.

Abrasive Wheel

Non-metallic disc that is impregnated with an abrasive, such as Carborundum and used in a power saw to cut masonry and metal.

Abreuvoir

Mortar joint between stones in a stone structure.

ABS

Acronitrile butadiene styrene. A type of plastic used to make plumbing pipe.

Absentee Owner

Landlord who lives elsewhere.

Absolute

Value that won't change when other factors change, such as a constant in a mathematical equation. Something that is free from imperfection. Unconditional, without restriction, such as the power of a dictator. An exact amount.

Absolute Humidity

The mass of water in a given volume of air.

Absolute Scale

Temperature scale using absolute zero as the zero point on the scale.

Absolute Zero

The lowest temperature on the absolute or Kelvin scale, equal to -459.7 degrees F.

Absorb

Fill or soak up.

Absorption

Process of drawing a fluid or gas into a porous material, such as a sponge soaking up water. Masonry absorption is the weight of water that can be absorbed by a brick immersed in water.

Absorption Field

A field engineered to receive septic tank effluent. Also called a leeching or seeping field, an absorption field consists of a series of shallow trenches - parallel, round, or whatever the land allows - 18" to 24" wide, in which drain tiles (pieces of perforated pipe) are placed. If the permeability of the soil, established by a percolation test is exceptional, then the pipes can be laid directly on it. In most cases the trenches must be lined with a 6" layer of gravel to help the effluent absorb properly into the soil.

Abstract of Judgment

A court judgment filed with the county that creates a lien against a piece of property.

Abstract or title search

A review of public records to determine whether liens or defects of title exist on a piece of property, which could interfere with clear ownership transfer. Done prior to closing of title on a sale.

Abut

Boundaries of contiguous properties with no intervening land. To join or rest against another. To butt up against.

Abutment

Supporting structure (column) at the end of a bridge or arch.

Abutment Piece

The bottom plate of a wall.

Abutting

Property adjoining or bordering another property.