Main Entry: ¹se·ques·ter

Pronunciation: \si-ˈkwes-tər\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): se·ques·tered; se·ques·ter·ing \-t(ə-)riŋ\

Etymology: Middle English sequestren, from Anglo-French sequestrer, from Latin sequestrare to hand over to a trustee, from sequester third party to whom disputed property is entrusted, agent, from secus beside, otherwise; akin to Latin sequi to follow

Date: 14th century

1 a : to set apart : segregate <sequester a jury> b : seclude, withdraw <widely spaced homes are forbiddingly grand and sequestered — Don Asher>
2 a : to seize especially by a writ of sequestration b : to place (property) in custody especially in sequestration
3 : to hold (as a metallic ion) in solution usually by inclusion in an appropriate coordination complex