“The basis of this institution was the transfer of property to a trusted friend, who was to hold it not for personal benefit but for the purpose of carrying out the transferor’s instructions. The person to whom the land was conveyed for this purpose was the ‘feoffee to uses’; the person for whose benefit the land was conveyed — the beneficiary — was the ‘cestui que use’ … , from the law French ‘cestui a que use le feoffment fuit fait.’ ” Peter Butt, Land Law § 702, at 97 (3d ed. 1996).
cestui que use
cestui que use (set-ee [orses-twee] kee [or k[schwa]] yoos).Archaic. The person for whose use and benefit property is being held by another, who holds the legal title to the property. Pl. cestuis que use or (erroneously) cestuis que usent.[Cases: Trusts 131. C.J.S. Trover and Conversion § 241.]
