WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Re*ver"sion
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [F. r?version, L. reversio a turning back. See Revert.]
Definition : 1. The act of returning, or coming back; return. [Obs.] After his reversion home, [he] was spoiled, also, of all that he brought with him. Foxe.

2. That which reverts or returns; residue. [Obs.] The small reversion of this great navy which came home might be looked upon by religious eyes as relics. Fuller.

3. (Law)

Defn: The returning of an esttate to the grantor or his heirs, by operation of law, after the grant has terminated; hence, the residue of an estate left in the proprietor or owner thereof, to take effect in possession, by operation of law, after the termination of a limited or less estate carved out of it and conveyed by him. Kent.

4. Hence, a right to future possession or enjoiment; succession. For even reversions are all begged before. Dryden.

5. (Annuities)

Defn: A payment which is not to be received, or a benefit which does not begin, until the happening of some event, as the death of a living person. Brande &C.

6. (Biol.)

Defn: A return towards some ancestral type or character; atavism. Reversion of series (Alg.), the act of reverting a series. See To revert a series, under Revert, v. t.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913