From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Escheat \Es*cheat"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Esheated}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Escheating}.] (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.
[1913 Webster]
Note: In this country it is the general rule that when the
title to land fails by defect of heirs or devisees, it
necessarily escheats to the State; but forfeiture of
estate from crime is hardly known in this country, and
corruption of blood is universally abolished. --Kent.
Bouvier.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Escheat \Es*cheat"\, v. t. (Law)
To forfeit. --Bp. Hall.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
escheat
n 1: a reversion to the state (as the ultimate owner of
property) in the absence of legal heirs
2: the property that reverts to the state
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