escheat — es·cheat 1 /is chēt/ n [Anglo French eschete reversion of property, from Old French escheoite accession, inheritance, from feminine past participle of escheoir to fall (to), befall, ultimately from Latin ex out + cadere to fall] 1: escheated… … Law dictionary
Escheat — is a common law doctrine that operates to ensure that property is not left in limbo and ownerless. It originally referred to a number of situations where a legal interest in land was destroyed by operation of law, so that the ownership of the… … Wikipedia
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.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
escheat — [es chēt′] n. [ME eschete < OFr, lit., that which falls to one < pp. of escheoir, to fall to one s share < VL * excadere, to fall upon < L ex , out + cadere, to fall: see CASE1] Law 1. the reverting of property to the lord of the… … English World dictionary
Escheat — Es*cheat , v. t. (Law) To forfeit. Bp. Hall. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
escheat — (n.) the reverting of land to a king or lord in certain cases, early 14c., from Anglo Fr. eschete (late 13c.), from O.Fr. eschete succession, inheritance, originally fem. pp. of escheoir, from L.L. *excadere to fall out, from L. ex out, away (see … Etymology dictionary
escheat — escheatable, adj. /es cheet /, Law. n. 1. 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.… … Universalium
escheat — Reversion of monies or securities to the state in which the securityholder was last known to reside, when no claim by the securityholder has been made after a certain period of time fixed by state law. This is known as the holding period or cut… … Financial and business terms
escheat — /əsˈtʃit/ (say uhs cheet) noun 1. (formerly) the reversion of land to the feudal lord or the Crown in the absence of heirs of the owner. 2. property or a possession which reverts by escheat. 3. the right to take property subject to escheat. –verb …
escheat — es•cheat [[t]ɛsˈtʃit[/t]] Law. 1) law the reverting of property to the state or, as in England, to the crown when there are no legal heirs 2) law the right to take property subject to escheat 3) law (of property) to revert by escheat 4) law to… … From formal English to slang