amercement (redirected from amerces)

a·merce  (-mûrs)

tr.v. a·merced, a·merc·ing, a·merc·es

1. Law To punish by a fine imposed arbitrarily at the discretion of the court.

2. To punish by imposing an arbitrary penalty.

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[Middle English amercen, from Anglo-Norman amercier, from à merci, at the mercy of : à, to (from Latin ad; see ad-) + merci, mercy (from Latin mercs, wages).]

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a·mercea·ble adj.

a·mercement n.

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amercement, amerciament

1. punishment or penalty applied at the discretion of a court or other authority, as contrasted with a penalty predetermined by statute.
2. the imposing of such a penalty. — amercer, n.

See also: Punishment

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

amercement - money extracted as a penalty fine, mulct penalty - a payment required for not fulfilling a contract library fine - fine imposed by a library on books that overdue when returned