escheat 
11,1 e-rllr:il i, II lalllll,- ,,| III.- uh.'lr blood \\liclvvcr tiler, 
are collateral kmdivd capable <tt Inheriting; ami in iln 
United .States then . :ni !.. n,. e-. heat t.i any private 
person. 
There is no more certain arK'innent that lands are held 
under any as I.M.I than if we see that such lands In defect 
of heirs do (all by tmhrat unto him. 
ll,,,,k, r. Keeles. Polity, vlll. 2. 
All Lands in his Monarchic an- his, glucii and taken at 
his pleasure. Kifhealu are many hy reason of his scueri- 
tie. I'nrrliiix, rili-nnmse, p. 545. 
To the hih honor of Kentucky, as I am informed, she 
H the o\\ II.T of some slaves hy I'M-hnit. and has sold n..n> 
lint liheratuil nil. Li'iinitii. in Kaymond, p. 202. 
2. In England, the place or circuit within which 
the king or lord is entitled to escheats. 3. A 
writ to recover escheats from the person in pos- 
session. 4. The possessions which fall to the 
lord or state by escheat. 
God Is the supremo Lord, to whom these escheat! de- 
volve, and the poor are his receivers. 
Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, Iv. 8. 
The profits which came in to the king in his character 
of feudal lord, the reliefs, the eicheat*, the aids. 
K. .1. /''!' inntt, Norman Conquest, V. 295. 
6f. That which falls to one ; a reversion or re- 
turn. 
To make one great hy others losse Is had em-heat. 
Spenser, V. Q., I. v. 25. 
escheat (es-chef), '' [< ME. "excheten, abbr. 
cheti-n, tr., confiscate, with verbal n. chetynge, 
chetinge, cheating, i. e., escheating, < OP. es- 
cheoiter, receive an escheat, succeed ; from the 
noun : see escheat, n. From ME. form and sense 
were developed the mod. form and sense of 
cheat, defraud, swindle : see cheat 1 .'] I. intrans. 
To suffer escheat; revert or fall back by es- 
cheat. 
The images of four brothers who poysoned one another, 
hy which ineanes there encheated to v Republic that vast 
treasury of relleqnes now belonging to the church. 
Evelyn, Diary, June, 1646. 
He had proclaimed that all landed estates should, In 
lack of heirs male, escheat to his own exchequer. 
Motley, Dutch Republic, I. 55. 
H. trans. 1. To divest of an estate by con- 
fiscation: as, he was escheated of his lands in 
Scotland. 2. To confiscate ; forfeit. [Rare.] 
The ninepence with which she was to have been re- 
warded being encheatfd to the Kenwlgs family. 
Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, xv. 
escheatable (es-che'ta-bl), . [< escheat + 
-able.] Liable to escheat. Bacon. 
escheatage (es-che'taj), . [< escheat + -age.] 
The right of succeeding to an escheat. Sher- 
wood. 
escheator (es-che'tor), u. [Formerly also ex- 
rhcator ; < ME. escheter, excheter, 'escltetour, < 
OF. (AF.) eschetor, eschetour, escheoitor, eschoie- 
tour, escheator, < eschcoiter, eschoiter, succeed, 
escheat: see escheat, v. Hence, by apheresis, 
cheater, now with the sense of 'swindler': see 
cheat^-, cheater.] An officer anciently appoint- 
ed in English counties to look after the es- 
cheats of the sovereign aud certify them into 
the treasury. 
In 1396 Richard II. conferred the same dignity on York 
(made it a county with an elective sheriff], constituting 
the mayor the king's escheator. Stubbt, Const. Hist, $488. 
escheatorship (es-che'tor-ship), . [< escheat- 
or + -ship.'] The post or office of an escheator. 
\V hen he applied for the encheatorship. he informed Lord 
Castlereagh that he intended to have his seat transferred 
t.. Mr. llalfoiir. .\in,-trenth Century, XXII. 789. 
eschekert, [ME. formofc/iecfcer 1 , exchequer.'] 
1. A chess-board. 
And alle be hit ttiat in that place square 
Of the listes, I niene the extcheker. 
Oeclrve, M.S. Soc. Antiq., 134, fol. 263. 
2. Exchequer (which see). 
eschelt, [ME., < OF. <.sv/ ( , 7, , ,.-h<'tlr, rsfiele, 
txkii'lf, ixquirre, scare, < OHO. skara, MHG. G. 
.iflinr, company, troop. Cf. rrlunii/iii'ttr.] A 
troop or company. 
A stiff man & a stern, that was the kinges stiward, 
.V ctieueteyn was chose that eschel to le.le. 
William of I'nlerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3379. 
Eschel blue. Same as smalt. 
eschevet, >' ' A Middle English variant of 
f/t'/uVrc. 
escheyint (es'che-vin), n. [OF. eschenn, F. 
irln'i'iii = Sp. wlariii = It. schiarino, scabino, < 
ML. scabinuf:, a sheriff, < OHG. scaffin, scfffin. 
m-ifliihi. Mil'!, tn-lii-ffrii. xi-lirffr. fit. schoffe, also 
(after LG.) srhtippe (= OLG. srepin'o = D. 
Ht-lK'/ii'ii). sheriff, justice ; < OHG. ncaffan, MHG. 
( i . xi'liiiff'-ii. shape, form, order, etc., = E. shape. 
q. v.] The elder or warden who was principal 
of an ancient guild. 
2003 
eschewt (es-cho'), . [ME. rxrhrtr, tschictee, < 
OK. isrlii;/, i:i/cii<. shy, unwilling, = Pr. esquiu 
= Sp. Pg. esquiro = It. nchifato, reserved, dis- 
creet, circumspect, etc., < OHG. "stink, MHG. 
schiech (G. scheu) = E. shy: see shyl, a. Hence 
eschew, .] Unwilling; disinclined. 
He ... is the moore echcw for to schryven hyni. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
eschew (es-cho'), r. I. [< ME. enckeicen, eschu- 
en, eachuwen, < OF. eschuer, eschiwer, eschiver, 
mi-Ill n r. i.-rliiin-r,-. ,sl,,,-,r. etc., = I'r. c.icMnOf, 
cxquirar = Sp. l'i;. < xi/ninir = It. srhifare, uvoid, 
shun, eschew, < OHG. sciuhen, MHG. schiuln-n. 
G. scheuchen, frighten, schcueit, avoid, shun, 
fear, < OHG. 'sctah, MHG. schieclt (G. scheu), 
shy: see eschew, a., and shy 1 , a.] 1. To refuse 
to use or participate in; stand aloof from; 
shun ; avoid. 
If tli. .u wilt liane health of body eulll dyet encheic. 
Balxe* Boolt (E. E. T. S.), p. 88. 
Let him etcheic evil, and do good. 1 Pet. HI. 11. 
For, encheiping hooks and Uuks, 
Nature answers all he asks. 
WhMier, Barefoot Boy. 
2f. To escape from ; evade. 
Than is It wisdom, as it thlnketh me, 
To maken vertu of necessity, 
And take it we), that we may nat etehue. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale (ed. Morris), 1. 2185. 
A certalne wall that they made to eichew the shot of the 
bulwarks. llatluytt Voyayet, II. 8fi. 
He who ol>eys, destruction shall enchew. Sandy*. 
eschewal (es-cho'al), n. [< eschew + -al.] The 
act of eschewing: eschewment. 8. Wentworth. 
eschewance (es-chS'ans), n. [< eschew + -ance.~] 
The act of eschewing; avoidance. Imp. Diet. 
eschewer (es-chS'er), n. One who eschews. 
eschewment (es-cho'ment), n. [< eschew + 
-mewf.l The act of eschewing. [Rare.] 
Eschscholtzia (e-sholt'si-a), . [NL., named 
after J. F. von Eschscholtz, a German natural- 
ist (1793-1831).] 1. A small genus of delicate 
glabrous and glaucous herbs, of the natural or- 
der Papareracece, natives of California and the 
adjacent region. They have finely divided leaves and 
bright-yellow or orange-colored flowers. E. Califomica, 
the California poppy, is very common in cultivation. 
2. In zool.: (a) A genus of beetles, of the family 
Elateridte. Also called Athous. Laporte, 1840. 
(6) A genus of saccate ctenophorans, of the 
family Cydippidce. E. cordata is a Mediterra- 
nean species. Also Eschscholthia. Lesson, 1843. 
eschuet, r. t. An obsolete form of eschetc. 
Chaucer. 
eschynite, n. See teschynite. 
esclandre (es-klan'der), n. [F., scandal: see 
slander and scandal.] Disturbance; a cause 
of scandal; a scene. 
Scouthnsh, to avoid esclandre and misery, thought it 
well to waive the proviso. Kingitley, Two Years Ago, xi. 
esclatt (es-kla-ta'), [OF. esclate, pp. of 
esclater, mod. F. eclater, shiver, shatter: see 
eclat.'] In her., violently broken; shattered: 
thus, a shield esclatte is a bearing representing 
a shield shattered as by the blow of a battle-ax. 
esclavage (F. pron. es-kla-vazh'), n. [F.] A 
heavy necklace worn by women in the middle 
of the eighteenth century. It was commonly com- 
posed of several chains, or strings of heads, arranged in 
festoons so as to cover the neck and fall very low in front, 
to correspond with the low-cut waist of the period. The 
famous diamond necklace of Marie Antoinette was of this 
sort. 
esclopette (es-klo-pef), . [F.] A light gun. 
See eseopet and sctonos. 
escocheont, escochiont, Obsolete forms of 
escutcheon. 
eseopet (es-ko-pef), [< Sp. Pg. escopeta, a 
firelock, a gun, = OF. escopette, a carbine, < It. 
schioppetto (also scoppietto), dim. of schioppo 
(also scoppio), a guu ; musket : cf. scoppio, a 
burst, crack, explosion, < scoppiare, burst, 
crack. Cf. ML. sclupare, shoot, < L. sclomus, 
var. sclopus, the sound produced by striking 
suddenly upon the inflated cheek.] A carbine 
or short rifle, especially a form used by the 
Spanish Americans. Compare escopette. 
escopette (es-ko-pef), n. [OF.: see eseopet.] 
A hand-gun, (a) Same as tclopette. (It) A carbine or 
short rifle. See etcopet. 
escorial (es-ko'ri-al), . [Sp.] In the western 
mining districts of the United States, a place 
whore a mine has been exhausted. 
escort (es'kdrt), n. [< F. escorte = Sp. Pg. es- 
<-<>lta, < It. scoria, an escort, guide, convoy, 
fern. pp. of m'oriji re, see, perceive, guide, < L. 
as if "ereorriqerc, < ei, out, + corrigere (> It. 
corgere), set right, correct : see correct.] 1. A 
protecting, guiding, or honorary guard in a pro- 
escrow 
gress of any kind ; a person or a lKly of per- 
sons accompanying another or others for pro- 
tection, guidance, or compliment ; especially, 
an armed guard, as a company of soldiers or 
a vessel or vessels of war, for tin- |imti I'tion of 
travelers, merchant ships, munitions of war, 
treasure, or the like. 
The extentof an eicort Is usually pro|xirtioned either to 
the dignity of the person attended, if It be meant as a 
compliment, or, if of treasure, according to the sum and 
the dangers lying In the way. /;. < y. . 
2. Protection, safeguard, or guidance on a 
journey or an excursion : as, to travel under the 
escort of a friend. 
escort (es-k6rt'), r. t. [< F. escorter = Sp. escol- 
tar, < It. scortare, escort; from the noun.] To 
attend and guard on a journey or voyage ; ac- 
company; convoy, as a guard, protector, or 
guide, or by way of compliment : as, the guards 
escorted the Duke of Wellington; to escort a 
ship, a traveler, or a lady. 
In private haunt, In public meet, 
Salute, etcort hint through the street. 
P. Francii, tr. of Horace's Satires, I. 
Burlelgh was sent to eicort the Papal Legate, Cardinal 
Pole, from Brussels to London. Macaulay, Burlelgh. 
= Syn. To conduct, convoy. 
escott (es-kof), . [OF.] Same as scot. 
escott (es-kof), v. t. [OF. escotter; from the 
noun: see escot, n., and scot.] To pay a reck- 
oning for ; support or maintain. 
Who maintains them? how are they encotedf 
Shalr., Hamlet, ii. 2. 
escouadet (es-ko-ad'), . [F., < Sp. escuatira, 
a squad, = It. squadra, > OF. esqtiadra, escadre, 
> E. squad, q. v.] Same as squad. 
CSCOUtt (es-kouf), . An obsolete form of 
scouft. 
escribe (es-krib'), r. /. ; pret. and pp. escribed, 
ppr. escribing. [< L. e , out, + scribere, write : so 
formed in distinction from exscribe, < L. ejcscri- 
bere, write out: see 
exscribe.} To draw 
so as to touch the 
one side of a tri- 
angle outside of the 
triangle, and the 
other two sides pro- 
duced: as, an es- 
cribed circle. 
escrime (es-krem'), 
n. [F. escrime (= 
Pr. escrima = Sp. 
Pg. esgrima = It. Escribed Circles. 
scherma), fencing, < 
escrimer, OF. eskermir = Pr. escrimir = Sp. Pg. 
esgrimir = It. schermare, schmnire, fence, skir- 
mish: see skirm, skirmixh.] The art of using 
weapons other than missive weapons, includ- 
ing attack and defense with sword and shield, 
sword and buckler, saber, rapier, and poniard, 
small-sword, and even the ax and mace: gen- 
erally restricted to the use of the sword or 
saber according to some one of the recognized 
methods in use at the present day. 
escriptt(es-kript'). [(OF.escript: seescript.] 
A writing; manuscript. Cockeram. 
Ye have silenced almost all her able guides, and daily 
burn their cucriptt. 
Brituh Bellman, 1648 (Harl. Misc., VII. 625). 
escritoire, escritoir (es-kri-twor'), . [< F. 
ecritoire, < OF. escriptoire = Pr. escriptori = 
Sp. Pg. escritorio, Pg. also escriptorio = It. scrit- 
torio, scrittoria, a writing-desk, pen-tray, earlier 
a writing-room, scriptorium, < ML. scriptorium, 
a writing-room : see scriptorium.] A piece of 
furniture with conveniences for writing, as an 
opening top or falling front panel, places for 
inkstand, pens, and stationery, etc.; also, a tray 
to hold inkstand, pens, and other implements 
for writing. 
A hundred guineas will buy yon a rich exritair for your 
billets-doux. Farquhar, Constant Couple, v. 1. 
escritorial (es-kri-to'ri-al), n. [< escritoire + 
-ah] Pertaining to an escritoire. Cowper. 
escrivenert, Same as scrivener. 
escrod, n. See scrod. 
escroll (es-krol'), n. [See scroll.] la her., same 
as scroll that is, the ribbon upon which the 
motto is displayed. Also escrol. 
escrow (es-kro'). H. [< ME. 'escrowe, by apher- 
esis scrowe, a scroll, < AF. escrowe, OF. escrow, 
escroe (>ML. escroa, scroa, scrua), a roll of writ- 
ings, a bond, F. ecrou, an entry in the jail-book. 
See further under scrow, scroll.] 1. In law, a 
writing fully executed by the parties, but put 
into the custody of a third person to hold until 
