expropriate

(eks prōprē āt′)

transitive verb expropriated, expropriating

  1. to take (land, property, etc.) from its owner; esp., to take for public use or in the public interest, as by right of eminent domain
  2. to transfer (property) from another to oneself
  3. to deprive of ownership; dispossess

Origin: < ML expropriatus, pp. of expropriare, to deprive of one's own < L ex-, out + proprius, one's own

Related Forms:

See expropriate in American Heritage Dictionary 4

transitive verb ex·pro·pri·at·ed, ex·pro·pri·at·ing, ex·pro·pri·ates
  1. To deprive of possession: expropriated the property owners who lived in the path of the new highway.
  2. To transfer (another's property) to oneself.

Origin:

Origin: Medieval Latin expropriāre, expropriāt-

Origin: : Latin ex-, ex-

Origin: + Latin propriāre, to appropriate (from proprius, one's own; see Proper )

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Related Forms:

  • ex·proˌpri·aˈtion noun
  • ex·proˈpri·aˌtor noun
  • ex·proˈpri·a·toˌry (-ə-tôrˌē, -tōrˌē) adjective

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