amerce
Americanverb (used with object)
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to punish by imposing a fine not fixed by statute.
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to punish by inflicting any discretionary or arbitrary penalty.
verb
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law to punish by a fine
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to punish with any arbitrary penalty
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of amerce
1250–1300; Middle English amercy < Anglo-French amerci ( er ) to fine, representing ( estre ) a merci (to be) at (someone's) mercy. See a- 5, mercy
Explanation
To amerce is to impose a fine on someone as punishment. During the Middle Ages, the King might amerce you if you trespassed on his land to retrieve a lost ball. The word amerce was more common in medieval times, although it's still used in a legal context, along with amercement. Today when a court amerces someone, it legally orders them to pay a fine after finding them guilty of wrongdoing. The word comes from the French a merci, or "at the mercy," referring to the fact that a person facing amercement is at the mercy of the court.
Vocabulary lists containing amerce
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But ile amerce you with so strong a fine, That you shall all repent the losse of mine.
From Shakespeare in the Theatre by Poel, William
But Plato here, O Athenians! and Crito Critobulus, and Apollodorus bid me amerce myself in thirty minæ, and they offer to be sureties.
From Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates by Cary, Henry
"Nay, but they will hold thee to ransom, and detain thee till it is brought: I heard them amerce thee at a thousand marks."
From The House of Walderne A Tale of the Cloister and the Forest in the Days of the Barons' Wars by Crake, A. D. (Augustine David)
The words achieve, agree, amerce, amount, acquit, acquaint, avow, &c. show the same prefix, derived through the medium of Old French.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
But perhaps I could pay you a mina of silver: in that sum, then, I amerce myself.
From Apology, Crito, and Phaedo of Socrates by Cary, Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
