a. (LIfe Insurance) Lit., half-tontine; -- used to designate a form of tontine life insurance. See Tontine insurance. -- Sem`i*ton*tine", n. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

n. [ F., from It. tontina; -- so called from its inventor, Tonti, an Italian, of the 17th century. ] An annuity, with the benefit of survivorship, or a loan raised on life annuities with the benefit of survivorship. Thus, an annuity is shared among a number, on the principle that the share of each, at his death, is enjoyed by the survivors, until at last the whole goes to the last survivor, or to the last two or three, according to the terms on which the money is advanced. Used also adjectively; as, tontine insurance. [ 1913 Webster ]

Too many of the financiers by professions are apt to see nothing in revenue but banks, and circulations, and annuities on lives, and tontines, and perpetual rents, and all the small wares of the shop. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Life Insurance) Insurance in which the benefits of the insurance are distributed upon the tontine principle. Under the old, or
full tontine, plan, all benefits were forfeited on lapsed policies, on the policies of those who died within the tontine period only the face of the policy was paid without any share of the surplus, and the survivor at the end of the tontine period received the entire surplus. This plan of tontine insurance has been replaced in the United States by the
semitontine plan, in which the surplus is divided among the holders of policies in force at the termination of the tontine period, but the reverse for the paid-up value is paid on lapsed policies, and on the policies of those that have died the face is paid. Other modified forms are called free tontine, deferred dividend, etc., according to the nature of the tontine arrangement. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]