Amercement
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A non-statutory monetary penalty or forfeiture, usually applied at the discretion of a court.
"29 March. The quhilk daye Thomas Garnes is fund in þe wrang and amerchiament of court, for þe violent ſchuting and towking of Dauid Fleming, officiar to the Cowparis, on frydaye laſt."
- 2 money extracted as a penalty wordnet
Example
More examples"29 March. The quhilk daye Thomas Garnes is fund in þe wrang and amerchiament of court, for þe violent ſchuting and towking of Dauid Fleming, officiar to the Cowparis, on frydaye laſt."
Etymology
From Middle English amercement, from Anglo-Norman amercier + -ment, from Old French à merci. Also from Medieval Latin amerciamentum, from amerciari + -amentum, learned Latinization of Anglo-Norman amerciament, amercement, amerciment. Equivalent to amerce + -ment.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.