deforcement
Also found in: Legal.
de·force
(dē-fôrs′)tr.v. de·forced,
de·forc·ing,
de·forc·es Law 1. To withhold (property, for example) from the rightful owner.
2. To deprive (a rightful owner) of something, especially property.
[Middle English
deforcen, from Anglo-Norman
deforcer, from Old French
desforcier :
des-,
de- +
forcier,
to force (from Vulgar Latin
*fortiāre, from Latin
fortis,
strong; see
bhergh- in
Indo-European roots).]
de·force′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.
References in periodicals archive
(19) And gif the said~ sercheouris in executioun of thair offices salhappin to be deforceit The committaris of be said
deforcement sal be rigorous lie punissit
At times Cameron's legal training undermines his clarity, as he uses Scots legal jargon likely to mystify the general reader--"wrongeous intromissions," "contracts of excambion," and "
deforcement" (197, 198, 256).
After the attack, Rooney was charged with
deforcement of messengers which used to carry the death penalty.
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