escheat

verb /ɪsˈt͡ʃiːt/

1. To put (land, property) in escheat; to confiscate.

   transitive

   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.

2. 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.

   intransitive

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.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry escheat (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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