lapsed

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

LAPS'ED, participle passive Fallen; passed from one proprietor to another by the negligence of the patron; as a lapsed benefice. A lapsed legacy is one which falls to the heirs through the failure of the legatee, as when the legatee dies before the testator.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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