A friend of mine got a legal notice about city taxes he owed & asked me about a word in it. "Distraint". Never heard of it, myself, just constraint and restraint. Anyone have a clue what this affixion of the "-straint" root means?

Wow. I hope I never come in contact with that word, which means: "the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim." He doesn't live in a friendly city, does he?

It almost makes me wonder if they didn't use the word on purpose, thinking he'd not know it and lose his property!

quote:

Originally posted by KB:
A friend of mine got a legal notice about city taxes he owed & asked me about a word in it. "Distraint".

What a compliment that he should turn to you rathehr than a dictionary, trustintg you as an "almost-as-good" source.

I'd never thought of the -straint as a root. Very interesting point. OED says that it is from Latin stringere "to draw tight".

quote:

OED says that it is from Latin stringere "to draw tight".

Hence "stringent," I assume?

astringent = tight butt

Not quite as complimentary as you may think, shufitz. Easier to ask a smart friend when you see him more often than you go to the library.

Then again, maybe it is a compliment to me. A lot of my long-time friends don't have their own dictionaries (let alone good ones). Obviously, that's because they rely on me! <cough, choke, cough>





[Edit: Yipes! Almost forgot -- thanks for the clarification Kalleh. Rude of me not to acknowledge the help I specifically asked for. Chalk it up to worry for my friend's situation.]