ar·raign
(ə-rān′)tr.v. ar·raigned,
ar·raign·ing,
ar·raigns 1. Law To call (an accused person) before a criminal court to hear and answer the charge made against him or her.
2. To call to account; accuse: "Johnson arraigned the modern politics of this country as entirely devoid of all principle" (James Boswell).
[Middle English arreinen, from Old French araisnier, from Vulgar Latin *adratiōnāre, to call to account : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin ratiō, ratiōn-, account; see reason.]
ar·raign′er n.
ar·raign′ment n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.