- Escheat
- Escheat Es*cheat", n. [OE. eschete, escheyte, an escheat, fr.
OF. escheit, escheoit, escheeite, esheoite, fr. escheoir (F.
['e]choir) to fall to, fall to the lot of; pref. es- (L. ex)
+ cheoir, F. choir, to fall, fr. L. cadere. See {Chance}, and
cf. {Cheat}.]
1. (Law)
(a) (Feud. & Eng. Law) The falling back or reversion of
lands, by some casualty or accident, to the lord of
the fee, in consequence of the extinction of the blood
of the tenant, which may happen by his dying without
heirs, and formerly might happen by corruption of
blood, that is, by reason of a felony or attainder.
--Tomlins. --Blackstone.
(b) (U. S. Law) The reverting of real property to the
State, as original and ultimate proprietor, by reason
of a failure of persons legally entitled to hold the
same.
[1913 Webster]
Note: A distinction is carefully made, by English writers, between escheat to the lord of the fee and forfeiture to the crown. But in this country, where the State holds the place of chief lord of the fee, and is entitled to take alike escheat and by forfeiture, this distinction is not essential. --Tomlins. Kent. (c) A writ, now abolished, to recover escheats from the person in possession. --Blackstone. [1913 Webster]
2. Lands which fall to the lord or the State by escheat. [1913 Webster]
3. That which falls to one; a reversion or return [1913 Webster]
To make me great by others' loss is bad escheat. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
