rə̇ˈvər]zhən, rēˈ-, -və̄], -vəi] also ]shən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin reversion-, reversio act of turning back, from reversus (past participle of revertere to turn back) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at revert
1.
a.
(1) : the returning of an estate upon its termination to its former owner or his successor in interest
(2) : the part of a simple estate remaining in its owner after he has granted therefrom a lesser particular estate (as the future reversionary interest when a term for years, a life estate, a fee tail, or a contingent remainder) that will upon the termination of the lesser estate automatically return to the possession of the owner
b. : the right of redemption under Scots law from wadset existing during the time allowed for the payment of the debt secured thereby
c. : a future interest in property left in a grantor or his successor in interest that is not subject to a condition precedent
2.
a. archaic : the residue of food or drink left over (as from a meal) : scraps , leftovers
b. obsolete : a small amount or number : remainder , remnant
3. : the right of succession or of future possession or enjoyment (as of an office or of material or immaterial goods)
4. : an act or instance of returning (as to a former condition or faith) : reconversion: as
a. : the act of reverting an algebraic series
b. : a return toward some ancestral type or condition : the reappearance of an ancestral character : atavism
5. : an act or instance of turning the opposite way or the state of being so turned
the breeze underwent an abrupt reversion
6. : a product of reversion: as
a. : an organism with an atavistic character : throwback
b. : a reversionary annuity
c. : a virus disease of black currants transmitted by a gall mite and characterized by narrow rugose leaves, abnormally elongated and partially or completely sterile flowers, and degeneration of the plant as a whole