Adempted

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Revoked or cancelled a bequest or gift made in a will, typically by destroying or replacing that specific provision
2. Took back or annulled a legacy or inheritance provision that had been named in a testamentary document
3. Cancelled a gift or inheritance left by will through formal revocation or by making a subsequent contrary disposition

Etymology: In wills, a gift is "adeemed" when the person who made the will gives away or sells the item before they die, so the bequest no longer passes to the intended heir. The lawyers' verb comes from Latin "ademptus," the past participle of "adimere," "to take away." "Adempted" is the past participle of "adempt," a variant of the same verb, which carries that sense of taking something back. The Latin verb combines "ad-" with "emere," "to take" or "buy." That same root sits behind "redeem," which originally meant buying something back, and "exempt," which means taken out from a general obligation. In "adeem," the testator has effectively taken the gift back from the heir before dying.