heriot

[ her-ee-uh t ]

/ ˈhɛr i ət /

noun English Law.

a feudal service or tribute, originally of borrowed military equipment and later of a chattel, due to the lord on the death of a tenant.

Nearby words

hereupon, hereward, herewith, hergesheimer, hering, heriot, herisau, heritability, heritable, heritage, heritance

Origin of heriot

before 900; Middle English heriot, heriet, Old English heregeate, heregeatu, heregeatwa war gear, equivalent to here army + geate, etc., equipment; cognate with Old Norse gǫtvar (plural)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heriot

A letter from Heriot informed me that the affair between Edbury and me was settled: he could not comprehend how.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond, Complete|George Meredith
He began to picture a very amusing evening with his old friend Heriot.
The Prodigal Father|J. Storer Clouston
Dr. Heriot gave her an inscrutable look in which drollery came uppermost.
Heriot's Choice|Rosa Nouchette Carey
Mrs. Heriot dabbled her hand in the cool water, and her diamond rings glittered like sparks of fire.
A Bachelor Husband|Ruby M. Ayres

Old Heriot looks too close into business to permit me more than the paltry and ordinary dues.
The Fortunes of Nigel|Sir Walter Scott

British Dictionary definitions for heriot

heriot

/ (ˈhɛrɪət) /

noun

(in medieval England) a death duty paid by villeins and free tenants to their lord, often consisting of the dead man's best beast or chattel

Word Origin for heriot

Old English heregeatwa, from here army + geatwa equipment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012