attainder

[ uh-teyn-der ]

/ əˈteɪn dər /

noun

the legal consequence of judgment of death or outlawry for treason or felony, involving the loss of all civil rights.

Obsolete. dishonor.

Nearby words

attack rate, attacker, attagirl, attain, attainable, attainder, attainment, attainment target, attaint, attainture, attalid

Origin of attainder

1425–75; late Middle English, noun use of Anglo-French attaindre to convict, Old French ataindre to convict, attain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for attainder

Difficulties arose, and the impeachment was turned into a bill of attainder.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5|Various
On the attainder of his son, the castle escheated to the crown.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 20, Issue 566, September 15, 1832|Various
The title of Nithisdale, except for the attainder, would have descended upon the next heir, Mr. Maxwell of Carruchan.
Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745|Mrs. Thomson
But the king could pardon anyone convicted by Parliamentary bill of attainder.
Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed.|S. A. Reilly

They passed an act of forfeiture and attainder against Henry VI.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part B.|David Hume

British Dictionary definitions for attainder

attainder

/ (əˈteɪndə) /

noun

(formerly) the extinction of a person's civil rights resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry on conviction for treason or felonySee also bill of attainder

obsolete dishonour

Archaic equivalent: attainture (əˈteɪntʃə)

Word Origin for attainder

C15: from Anglo-French attaindre to convict, from Old French ateindre to attain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012