mulct
[muhlkt]
- to deprive (someone) of something, as by fraud, extortion, etc.; swindle.
- to obtain (money or the like) by fraud, extortion, etc.
- to punish (a person) by fine, especially for a misdemeanor.
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- a fine, especially for a misdemeanor.
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Origin of mulct
First recorded in 1475–85, mulct is from the Latin word mul(c)ta penalty involving loss of property
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mulct
Historical Examples
The entire business is carried on to catch and mulct tourists.
Paris VistasHelen Davenport Gibbons
If he come into debt by Contract, or Mulct, the case is the same.
LeviathanThomas Hobbes
It is too early yet to say what the result of the “mulct” Act will be.
Sober by Act of ParliamentFred A. McKenzie
The offence that held 1500 soldiers in check was met by a mulct of two half-crowns.
Merchantmen-at-ArmsDavid W. Bone
The mulct to be imposed upon the parish of Epinal was never exacted.
The Twilight of the Gods, and Other TalesRichard Garnett
mulct
- to cheat or defraud
- to fine (a person)
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- a fine or penalty
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Word Origin
C15: via French from Latin multa a fine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for mulct
v.
late 15c., "to punish by a fine," from Middle French mulcter "to fine, punish" (15c.), from Latin mulctare, altered (Barnhart calls it "false archaism") from multare "punish, to fine," from multa "penalty, fine," perhaps from Oscan or Samnite [Klein]. Sense of "defraud" is first recorded 1748. Related: Mulcted; mulcting.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper