heriot

/ˈhɛɹɪət/

Etymology

From Old English hereġeatwa (“military equipment, army gear”). Per Etymonline: "An Anglo-Saxon service of weapons, loaned by the lord to his retainer and repayable to him upon the retainer's death; sense transferred by 13c. to a feudal due upon the death of a tenant, payable to his lord in beasts."

Why this word is great

HERIOT — [Noun] A feudal due payable to a lord upon the death of a tenant, originally the return of military equipment loaned by the lord. From Old English hereġeatwa ("military equipment, army gear"), from here ("army") + ġeatwa ("equipment, gear"). Unlike "relief" (a fee paid by heirs to secure inheritance) or "scutage" (a knight’s cash substitute for service), heriot is the literal unclasping of obligation—the sword returned to its owner, the shield stripped from a cold hand, the warhorse led back with empty stirrups. It is the creak of a chest opening to yield rusted mail, the weight of a warhorse led back to the stable, the hollow clatter of a helm placed once more at the lord’s feet—a transaction as old as loyalty, as final as death, where even a man’s end is merely an item on a ledger.

name

A surname.
A scattered settlement in Scottish Borders council area, Scotland, historically part of Midlothian (OS grid ref NT3952 to NT4054).
A settlement in West Otago, New Zealand.

noun

The return of military equipment.
A payment made to a lord on the death of a tenant.
A tribute.

verb

To pay the heriot on (a piece of real estate) after the death of the previous tenant (such as one's parent, uncle, aunt, or grandparent).“Page 174, line 25. Perhaps the Richard Longebothome here mentioned was the same man as the Richard who herioted the property in 1509. Apr. 23, I Hen. VIII (1509). Ric. Longebothome paid xxiijˢ iiijᵈ [23s 4d] fine for license of herioting one messuage called Longebothome, one cottage, and 40 acres of land and meadow in Soureby after the death of Ric. Longebothome and Agnes, his wife, grandfather […”