'Distraint' definitions:
Definition of 'distraint'
(from WordNet)
noun
The seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim; "Originally distress was a landlord's remedy against a tenant for unpaid rents or property damage but now the landlord is given a landlord's lien" [syn: distress, distraint]
Definition of 'Distraint'
From: GCIDE
- Distraint \Dis*traint"\, n. [OF. destrainte distress, force.] (Law) The act or proceeding of seizing personal property by distress. --Abbott. [1913 Webster]