Adjacent Words

Amerce definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AMERCE, v.t. amers'. [A verb formed from a for on or at, from L. merces, reward.]
1. To inflict a penalty at mercy; to punish by a pecuniary penalty, the amount of which is not fixed by law, but left to the discretion or mercy of the court; as, the court amerced the criminal in the sum of one hundred dollars.
2. To inflict a pecuniary penalty; to punish in general. Milton uses of after amerce; "Millions of spirits amerced of heaven;" but this use seems to be a poetic license.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: punish with an arbitrary penalty
2: punish by a fine imposed arbitrarily by the discretion of the court

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (amerced; amercing) Etymology: Middle English amercien, from Anglo-French amercier, from Old French a merci at (one's) mercy Date: 15th century to punish by a fine whose amount is fixed by the court; broadly punish • amercement noun • amerciable adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 Law punish by fine. 2 punish arbitrarily. Derivatives: amercement n. amerciable adj. Etymology: ME amercy f. AF amercier f. a at + merci MERCY

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Amerce A*merce", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Amerced; p. pr. & vb. n. Amercing.] [OF. amercier, fr. a merci at the mercy of, liable to a punishment. See Mercy.] 1. To punish by a pecuniary penalty, the amount of which is not fixed by law, but left to the discretion of the court; as, the amerced the criminal in the sum on the hundred dollars. Note: The penalty of fine may be expressed without a preposition, or it may be introduced by in, with, or of. 2. To punish, in general; to mulct. Millions of spirits for his fault amerced Of Heaven. --Milton. Shall by him be amerced with penance due. --Spenser.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-murs': Found in the King James Version only in De 22:19, "And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver." Amerce is a legal term derived from the French (a = "at"; merci = "mercy," i.e. literally, "at the mercy" (of the court)). Here it is used of the imposing of a fine, according to the Law of Moses, upon the man who has been proven by the Elders to have brought a false charge against the virginity of the maid he has married by saying to the father, "I found not thy daughter a maid."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Fine, mulct, impose a fine upon, deprive of, strip of.