heriot
/ˈhɛriət/
noun
- A payment or gift of property (often the best beast or chattel) due to a lord from a tenant upon the tenant's death, under feudal law.
- The lord claimed a heriot from the widow after her husband passed away.
- Under the old feudal system, a heriot was often the family's best cow.
- Historians study records of heriots to understand medieval land ownership.