proprietaire

Proprietaire, correctly spelled propriétaire in standard French, designates a person who holds the legal title to an asset. The term is commonly used for the owner of real estate, but it can also refer to the owner of a business or other properties. In non-French contexts, proprietaire without the accent is sometimes seen, though the authoritative form includes the accent.

In property law, the propriétaire has the rights of use, enjoyment, disposal, and transfer of the property, subject to applicable laws, mortgages, liens, and easements. Ownership can be sole or shared, such as in co-ownership or indivision arrangements, and may interact with other legal concepts like usufruct, where another party has a right to use the property while the owner retains title.

In everyday usage, the term distinguishes the owner from those who occupy or manage the property, such as the locataire (tenant) or administrateur (manager). In business contexts, a propriétaire refers to the owner or founder of a company, emphasizing ownership as a legal and economic relationship rather than day-to-day control alone.

Etymology traces propriétaire to Old French propriete and Latin proprius “one’s own,” via Late Latin proprietarius, reflecting the sense of ownership. The word is widely used in French-speaking jurisdictions and appears in legal forms, contracts, and property registries to identify the person with title to an asset.