Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Reversion?

\Re*ver"sion\, n. [F. r['e]version, L. reversio a turning back. See {Revert}.] 1. The act of returning, or coming back; return. [Obs.] After his reversion home, [he] was spoiled, also, of all that he brought with him. --Foxe. 2. That which reverts or returns; residue. [Obs.] The small reversion of this great navy which came home might be looked upon by religious eyes as relics. --Fuller. 3. (Law) The returning of an esttate to the grantor or his heirs, by operation of law, after the grant has terminated; hence, the residue of an estate left in the proprietor or owner thereof, to take effect in possession, by operation of law, after the termination of a limited or less estate carved out of it and conveyed by him. --Kent. 4. Hence, a right to future possession or enjoiment; succession. For even reversions are all begged before. --Dryden. 5. (Annuities) A payment which is not to be received, or a benefit which does not begin, until the happening of some event, as the death of a living person. --Brande &C. 6. (Biol.) A return towards some ancestral type or character; atavism. {Reversion of series} (Alg.), the act of reverting a series. See {To revert a series}, under {Revert}, v. t.