landed

Landed is the past participle of the verb land. It functions as a verb form describing the act of coming to rest on solid ground, and it also appears as an adjective in various senses related to land, ownership, or arrival. The term has multiple uses across contexts, from property and social history to aviation and commerce.

As an adjective related to property, landed describes ownership of land or estates. In Britain and other regions, phrases like landed gentry or landed estates refer to people or properties defined by landholding rather than other forms of wealth. The concept carries historical class implications because land ownership historically determined wealth and political influence.

In aviation and travel, landed denotes the completion of a landing: for example, the plane has landed, indicating contact with the ground and deceleration. The noun landing names the act itself, and a hard landing describes a particularly jarring touchdown. In immigration history, the term landed immigrant was used in Canada to denote a person granted permanent resident status; today the term is largely obsolete in official usage in favor of “permanent resident.” In commerce, the phrase landed cost or landed price refers to the total cost of goods once they arrive, including freight, duties, and handling.

Overall, landed functions as a flexible descriptor tied to land ownership, arrival, or final cost, with distinct meanings in historical, legal, and practical contexts.