escheat & diablerie

escheat (es-CHEET) noun

1. The reversion of property to the state or crown in case of no legal heirs.

2. Property that has reverted to the state or crown.

verb tr. and intr.

To revert or cause to revert property.

[From Middle English eschete, from Old French eschete, from Vulgar Latin excadere, from Latin ex- + cadere (to fall).]

diablerie (dee-AHB-luh-ree; -AB-), noun:
1. Sorcery; black magic; witchcraft.

2. Representation of devils or demons in words or pictures.

3. Mischievous conduct; deviltry.

She invariably had every child in the establishment at her heels, open-mouthed with admiration and wonder,–not excepting Miss Eva, who appeared to be fascinated by her wild diablerie, as a dove is sometimes charmed by a glittering serpent.
–Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Diablerie comes from the French, from diable, devil, from Latin diabolus, from Greek diabolos, “slanderer,” from diaballein, “to slander,” literally “to throw across,” from dia-, “across” + ballein, “to throw.”

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