Ruffin, C.J., said for the Court in Rogers v. Vines, 28 N.C. 293: "Now, `alimony' in its legal sense may be defined to be that proportion of the husband's estate which is judicially allowed and allotted to a wife for her subsistence and livelihood during the period of their separation." This has been quoted with approval in Hester v. Hester, 239 N.C. 97, 79 S.E.2d 248, and in Taylor v. Taylor, 93 N.C. 418. The divorce judgment recites, "by consent of the plaintiff, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND DECREED that the plaintiff shall pay to the defendant each, every and all the payments specified in the aforesaid agreement dated January 19, 1951."