transitive verb expropriated -·at′ed, expropriating -·at′·ing

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

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