escheat

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escheat

/ɪsˈt͡ʃiːt/

Rhymes with -iːt

Where it comes from

From 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.

noun escheats

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.
countable, obsolete, uncountable Plunder, booty. Approching, with bold words and bitter threat, / Bad that same boaster, as he mote, on high / To leaue to him that Lady for excheat, / Or bide him battell without further treat.
countable, uncountable That which falls to one; a reversion or return. And by my ruines thinkes to make them great: / To make one great by others losse, is bad excheat

verb escheats · escheating · escheated

transitive To put (land, property) in escheat; to confiscate. Arms are very rigidly controlled in Scotland by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. […] Under an Act of 1592, Lyon King of Arms can escheat to the Sovereign all goods unlawfully displaying arms.
intransitive To revert, convert, or vest ownership to the government or lord because its previous owner died without an heir or a business closed and no one claims the assets.

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MLA

"escheat." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/escheat. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

escheat. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/escheat

Chicago

"escheat." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/escheat.

BibTeX

@misc{escheat_2026,
  title = {escheat},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/escheat},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}