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Distrain   Listen
verb
Distrain  v. t.  (past & past part. distrained; pres. part. distraining)  
1.
To press heavily upon; to bear down upon with violence; hence, to constrain or compel; to bind; to distress, torment, or afflict. (Obs.) "Distrained with chains."
2.
To rend; to tear. (Obs.) "Neither guile nor force might it (a net) distrain."
3.
(Law)
(a)
To seize, as a pledge or indemnification; to take possession of as security for nonpayment of rent, the reparation of an injury done, etc.; to take by distress; as, to distrain goods for rent, or of an amercement.
(b)
To subject to distress; to coerce; as, to distrain a person by his goods and chattels.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Distrain" Quotes from Famous Books



... it shall you grieve, And somewhat you distrain; But, afterward, your paines hard Within a day or twain Shall soon aslake; and ye shall take Comfort to you again. Why should ye ought? for, to make thought Your labour were in vain. And thus I do; and pray you to, As heartily as I can; For I must to the green ...
— The Book of Old English Ballads • George Wharton Edwards

... very good advice, Mr Finlayson; but I will just ask you, as a Scotchman said, 'Who is to bell the cat?' You know, surely, that to attempt to distrain for rent on some of these gentlemen would assuredly bring a bullet through your brain or mine. It is not an easy matter to get money out of an Irishman when he is determined not to pay, and it is not for you or me, if we are wise men, to push the matter too hard. I will ...
— The Heir of Kilfinnan - A Tale of the Shore and Ocean • W.H.G. Kingston

... debtor's property certain claims are entitled to priority over others. Thus the landlord, although not entitled to a preference out of the funds in the hands of the trustee, can distrain for unpaid rent on the goods and effects of the debtor remaining on the landlord's premises, but where the distraint is levied after the commencement of the bankruptcy this right is limited by the act of 1890 ...
— Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 - "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" • Various

... young men, dressed up in women's clothes, with faces blackened, or otherwise disguised. This secret society was organized in 1843, to terrify the officials employed by Irish landlords to distrain for rent, either by grippers, (bumbailiffs), process-servers, keepers, or drivers (persons who impound cattle till the rent is paid.[TN-17]—W. S. Trench, Realities of Irish ...
— Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama - A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook, Vol. 3 • E. Cobham Brewer

... to fit out the vessels the sum of L18,000 had to be raised.(316) Much indignation was caused by this further tax on the purses of the citizens. Many stoutly refused to pay; and the constables whose duty it was to distrain in such cases manifested great reluctance to proceed to extremities. When they did make an effort to carry out their instructions the people rescued one another. The result was that the Chamber of the city had to ...
— London and the Kingdom - Volume II • Reginald R. Sharpe

... wot a cuckoo or an hare. But all must be assayed hot or cold; A man must be a fool, or young or old; I wot it by myself *full yore agone*: *long years ago* For in my time a servant was I one. And therefore since I know of love's pain, And wot how sore it can a man distrain*, *distress As he that oft hath been caught in his last*, *snare I you forgive wholly this trespass, At request of the queen that kneeleth here, And eke of Emily, my sister dear. And ye shall both anon unto me swear, That never more ye shall my country dere* *injure ...
— The Canterbury Tales and Other Poems • Geoffrey Chaucer

... ended by repeating. 'No, thanks.' And he added: 'The funny part of it all is, that Naudet is suing Fagerolles. Oh, quite so! he's going to distrain on him. Ah! it makes me laugh! We shall see a pretty scouring in the Avenue de Villiers among all those petty painters with mansions of their own. House property will go for nothing next spring! Well, Naudet, who had compelled Fagerolles to build a house, and who furnished it for him as ...
— His Masterpiece • Emile Zola



Words linked to "Distrain" :   attach, impound, sequester, seize, repossess, reclaim



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