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

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

Word Origin and History for attainder

attainder

"extinction of rights of a person sentenced to death or outlaw," mid-15c., from noun use of Old French ataindre "to touch upon, strike, hit, seize, accuse, condemn" (see attain). For use of French infinitives as nouns, especially in legal language, cf. waiver.