escheat
The return, conversion, or vesting of property of a deceased person or closed business…The return, conversion, or vesting of property of a deceased person or closed business to the government (originally to a feudal lord) where there are no legal heirs or claimants. It is known as bona vacantia in the United Kingdom.
Meaning
4 senses(countable, uncountable)The return, conversion, or vesting of property of a deceased person or closed business to the government (originally to a feudal lord) where there are no legal heirs or claimants. It is known as bona vacantia in the United Kingdom.
(countable, uncountable)The property so reverted.
the property that reverts to the state
(countable, uncountable)That which falls to one; a reversion or return.
(countable, obsolete, uncountable)Plunder, booty.
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
From Middle English escheat, achete, eschete (“the reversion or conversion of property toFrom Middle English escheat, achete, eschete (“the reversion or conversion of property to the government”), from Anglo-Norman eschete and Old French eschet, escheit, escheoit (“that which falls to one”), past participle of escheoir (“to fall”) (modern French échoir), from Late Latin *excadēre (“fall away, fall out”), from (Latin) ex- + cadere (“fall”). Doublet of cheat.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: escheatsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.