Heriotable

/ˈhɛrɪətəbəl/ adjective

Definition

subject to the payment of heriot; able to be claimed as heriot by a feudal lord.

Etymology

Middle English 'heriot' + '-able' suffix. A legal term formed to indicate which properties or tenancies were subject to heriot payments upon succession or death.

Kelly Says

Medieval lawyers created this term to precisely define which lands and tenants would trigger the lord's right to grab a heriot payment—it's feudalism with the bureaucracy showing.

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