n. 1 a the legal right (esp. of the original owner, or his or her heirs) to possess or succeed to property on the death of the present possessor. b property to which a person has such a right. 2 Biol. a return to ancestral type. 3 a return to a previous state, habit, etc. 4 a sum payable on a person's death, esp. by way of life insurance. reversional adj. reversionary adj.
[ ME f. OF reversion or L reversio (as REVERSE) ]