Distrain Definition
To seize personal property of an individual, typically a tenant, to compel the performance of an obligation, such as the payment of rent. See also distress.
Origin of Distrain
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Middle English distreinen from Old French destreindre destreign- from Medieval Latin distringere distrinct- from Latin to hinder dis- apart dis– stringere to draw tight streig- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Old French destraindre, from Latin distringere (“to pull asunder, stretch out, engage, hinder, molest, Medieval Latin also compel, coerce as by exacting a pledge by a fine or by imprisonment”), from dis- (“apart”) + stringere (“to draw tight, strain”).
From Wiktionary
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