To agree to be the tenant or feudal subject of a new lord, transferring loyalty from one property owner to another.
From Old French 'atorner' meaning 'to turn toward,' derived from Latin 'ad-' (to) and 'tornare' (to turn). In medieval law, it described the act of turning one's allegiance to a new overlord, originally a literal turning toward them.
This fascinating feudal term shows how property transfers worked in the Middle Ages—tenants had to formally 'turn toward' their new lord, making loyalty a legal performance as much as a personal commitment. Today it's mostly obsolete, but it survives in property law when tenants must 'attorn' to a new landlord after a building sale.
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