escheat

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Reversion of land held under feudal tenure to the manor in the absence of legal heirs or claimants.
2. n. Law Reversion of property to the state in the absence of legal heirs or claimants.
3. n. Law Property that has reverted to the state when no legal heirs or claimants exist.
4. v. Law To revert or cause to revert by escheat.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The reverting or falling back of lands or tenements to the lord of the fee or to the state, whether through failure of heirs or (formerly) through the corruption of the blood of the tenant by his having been attainted, or by forfeiture for treason. By modern legislation there can be no escheat on failure of the whole blood wherever there are collateral kindred capable of inheriting; and in the United States there can be no escheat to any private person.
2. n. In England, the place or circuit within which the king or lord is entitled to escheats.
3. n. A writ to recover escheats from the person in possession.
4. n. The possessions which fall to the lord or state by escheat.
5. n. That which falls to one; a reversion or return.
6. To suffer escheat; revert or fall back by escheat.
7. To divest of an estate by confiscation: as, he was escheated of his lands in Scotland.
8. To confiscate; forfeit.

Wiktionary

1. n. law The return of property of a deceased person to the state (originally to a feudal lord) where there are no legal heirs or claimants.
2. n. law The property so reverted.
3. n. obsolete Plunder, booty.
4. v. to revert by this process

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (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.
2. n. (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.
3. n. A writ, now abolished, to recover escheats from the person in possession.
4. n. Lands which fall to the lord or the State by escheat.
5. n. That which falls to one; a reversion or return.
6. v. (Law) To revert, or become forfeited, to the lord, the crown, or the State, as lands by the failure of persons entitled to hold the same, or by forfeiture.
7. v. (Law) To forfeit.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the property that reverts to the state
2. n. a reversion to the state (as the ultimate owner of property) in the absence of legal heirs