The official register of land parcels — who holds which ground, and where its lines run.
French cadastre, from Italian catastro/catasto, from Byzantine Greek katastikhon (a register, a list, line by line), from kata- (down, according to) + stikhos (a row, a line of writing).
The official register of who holds which ground, and where its lines actually run — a claim about land made checkable rather than assumed.