'Confiscate' meant 'seize for the treasury basket' — Latin 'fiscus' was a wicker money-basket.
To seize private property by authority, especially as a penalty; to take away from someone, often by force or official order.
From Latin 'confiscatus,' past participle of 'confiscare' (to seize for the treasury), composed of 'con-' (together, with) and 'fiscus' (the state treasury, literally a basket or money-bag). 'Fiscus' originally referred to a wicker basket used to store money — the physical container became a metonym for the treasury itself. The PIE root behind 'fiscus' is uncertain but may relate to *bheid- (to split) if connected to the plaiting of wicker. The word entered English in the 16th century, reflecting the growth of centralised state
The Roman 'fiscus' was originally just a wicker basket for collecting money. When Augustus reorganized imperial finances, the emperor's personal treasury was called the 'fiscus' in contrast to the 'aerarium' (public treasury). Today 'fiscal' — meaning 'relating to government revenue' — still descends from that basket.