escheat

[ es-cheet ]

noun

1. Also escheatment. the reverting of property to the state or some agency of the state, or, as in England, to the lord of the fee or to the crown, when there is a failure of persons legally qualified to inherit or to claim.
2. the right to take property subject to escheat.

verb (used without object)

1. to revert by escheat, as to the crown or the state.

verb (used with object)

1. to make an escheat of; confiscate.

escheat

/ ɪsˈtʃiːt /

noun

1. (in England before 1926) the reversion of property to the Crown in the absence of legal heirs
2. (in feudal times) the reversion of property to the feudal lord in the absence of legal heirs or upon outlawry of the tenant
3. the property so reverting

verb

1. to take (land) by escheat or (of land) to revert by escheat

Derived Forms

• esˈcheatable, adjective
• esˈcheatage, noun

Other Words From

• es·cheat·a·ble adjective
• un·es·cheat·a·ble adjective
• un·es·cheat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of escheat¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English eschete, exschete, from Old French eschete, eschaete, escheoite, feminine past participle of escheoir, from Vulgar Latin excadēre (unrecorded) “to fall to a person's share,” equivalent to Latin ex- ex- ¹ + cadere “to fall” ( Vulgar Latin cadēre )

Word History and Origins

Origin of escheat¹

C14: from Old French eschete, from escheoir to fall to the lot of, from Late Latin excadere (unattested), from Latin cadere to fall

Example Sentences

They therefore reported that there should be no escheat of the original grants for non-performance of conditions as to settlement.

From Project Gutenberg

In case a master died without lawful heirs, his slaves did not escheat, but were regarded as other personal estate or property.

From Project Gutenberg

The same vagueness enshrouds the infancy of the escheat propter defectum tenentis.

From Project Gutenberg

The burghers power of devising his land made escheat a rare event, and so destroyed the evidence of mesne tenure.

From Project Gutenberg

The estate would escheat to the king, Hanoverian or Scotchman, before it came to me.

From Project Gutenberg