heriot

American  

[her-ee-uht] / ˈhɛr i ət /

noun

English Law.

1. 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.

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heriot British  

/ ˈhɛrɪət /

noun

1. (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

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Etymology

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)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heriot

When the lord was an ecclesiastical corporation he not unfrequently got two beasts, one as a heriot and the other as a mortuary due to him as rector of the parish.

From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul

The heriot of a military tenant was his arms and habiliments of war, which belonged to the lord for the purpose of equipping his successor.

From Legal Lore Curiosities of Law and Lawyers by Various

Article XI deals with the right of heriot, or the death-tax imposed upon the widow or heir of a tenant.

From Luther Examined and Reexamined A Review of Catholic Criticism and a Plea for Revaluation by Dau, W. H. T. (William Herman Theodore)

As to the amount of the relief the same fluctuations may be traced as in the case of the heriot.

From Villainage in England Essays in English Mediaeval History by Vinogradoff, Paul

When Dick understood what heriot meant he would not do it.

From Notwithstanding by Cholmondeley, Mary